TNR examines the new starters.
Change can be good. Change can be necessary. Change can be unavoidable and inevitable. And if you’re the 2016 49ers, change can be all of the above.
Along with all the other change happening within the organization this year — most notably an overhauled coaching staff with Chip Kelly now in charge — the 49ers had an astounding 13 new faces in their regular starting lineup for their September 12th season opener against the Los Angeles Rams as compared to their 2015 season-opening starting lineup against Minnesota.
That’s 13 new starters out of the 22 players who took the field on offense and defense. It’s the biggest turnover in San Francisco’s starting lineup from one season to the next that the 49ers have had in recent memory — and quite possibly in franchise history.
A large portion of that change has come from within. Ten of the new starters are young holdover veterans from last year’s roster that have moved up into regular starting roles this year. Two others are veteran free-agent additions — one of whom joined the team in the spring and another who was a late arrival at the end of August. San Francisco’s top first-round draft pick, the No. 7 player selected overall this spring, rounds out the list of new starters.
Will this large group represent a Lucky 13 in the starting lineup for the revamped 49ers? Here, The Niner Report takes a look at where each starter stands — and where the 49ers stand at their positions — as the team moves forward through the early part of its schedule.
BLAINE GABBERT
Denne historien er fra October 2016-utgaven av Niner Report.
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Denne historien er fra October 2016-utgaven av Niner Report.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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EIGHT IS ENOUGH
Set 49ers lineup still has several new starters
Calling all cornerbacks
Loss of Verrett exposes 49ers’ thin depth at CB
Always finding their way to run
49ers system accomplished at developing homegrown talent
ANOTHER COMEBACK?
Resilient veteran Verrett to miss rest of season
TOP 10 Rookie running backs
THE BACK LIST
STOCK UP STOCK DOWN
DEOMMODORE LENOIR | AMBRY THOMAS
Will Mostert run for 49ers again?
Raheem Mostert was primed this year to be the centerpiece of one of the NFL’s most dynamic offenses, featured as the lead performer in San Francisco’s grinding rushing attack while making his climb among the league’s top running backs.
THE WONDER OF WARNER
49ers make All-Pro star highest-paid LB in NFL
Making the right choice at QB
In the weeks that follow after you read this — and perhaps sometime even sooner than that — Kyle Shanahan and the rest of the 49ers organization will make a titanic decision that will have present, future and perhaps even everlasting implications for the franchise. It will chart the course for the team’s pivotal 2021 season while determining whether San Francisco really does have the juice to return to powerhouse status and again be considered a legitimate contender to get back to the Super Bowl.
TOP 10 Linebacker seasons
Fred Warner vaulted to stardom with a spectacular 2020 season — and the 49ers rewarded him this summer with a $95.225 million deal that makes him the highest-paid inside linebacker in NFL history. By today’s standards, Warner’s performance last year was worth the money as he posted an Approximate Value of 19 — matching the highest score ever recorded by a San Francisco defender according to a Pro Football Reference formula that puts a single number on each player-season across all positions since 1960. Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman (twice) also had seasons with an AV of 19 as they dominate this list of the greatest individual seasons by a linebacker in 49ers history.
