But with a veteran lineup returning all but a handful of starters on a stocked roster deep with talent, their needs from San Francisco’s rookie class of 2020 were much fewer and much more specific. Or so they thought. But with one of the NFL’s best rosters decimated by injuries and other health factors throughout the season, the 49ers found themselves playing just as many rookies in 2020 as they did the year before. In all, nine rookies made it onto the active roster and saw playing time this past season, including the first four of the team’s five 2020 draft picks and a handful of others that were called upon to fill out a skeleton roster over the season’s final weeks. Here’s a breakdown of that rookie class, putting each youngster into categories based on performance in their debut NFL season.
STARS
WR Brandon Aiyuk (Round 1, No. 25 overall selection): San Francisco traded first-, fourth- and fifth-round picks to the Minnesota Vikings on the opening day of the draft just to move up six spots in the first round to select Aiyuk. But the smooth and poised youngster quickly showed everybody the 49ers knew what they were doing on his way to a standout rookie season, particularly considering he played only 12 games with three different quarterbacks.
Bu hikaye Niner Report dergisinin February/March 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Niner Report dergisinin February/March 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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.
