As they begin their 2021 reset after a pandemic-marred season gone bad, the 49ers enter training camp this summer with many starting positions and vital roles already well-stocked with established veterans on what many pundits still consider one of the NFL’s most talented rosters. San Francisco returns 17 regular starters from 2020, though several of them weren’t in the lineup at the end of last season due to the steady flow of injuries that pummeled the team throughout the year. The 49ers have brought in fresh talent to challenge some of those holdover starters, and it is open season at other positions where 2020 starters have departed or been replaced. That promises to result in fierce competition for jobs in specific areas and intriguing battles for a few other defined roles as the 49ers move forward into a new season. Here, The Niner Report takes a look at the key positional battles that will take place during the team’s summer camp and predicts who will emerge on top for San Francisco’s Sept. 12 season opener against the Detroit Lions.
QUARTERBACK
Regular 2020 starter: Jimmy Garoppolo (3 3 in six starts), Nick Mullens (2-6 in eight starts)
The incumbent: Garoppolo
The departed: Mullens, C.J. Beathard
The comeback: Garoppolo On the hot seat: Garoppolo
The heralded rookie heir apparent: Trey Lance
The reclamation project: Josh Rosen
The veteran newcomer: Nate Sudfeld
This story is from the August 2021 edition of Niner Report.
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This story is from the August 2021 edition of Niner Report.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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.
