KYLE JUSZCZYK
Best grand entrance: We start off our annual awards with a wunderkind named Brandon Aiyuk, who sure knows how to announce he has arrived on the scene ahead of his time. In his first game at Levi’s Stadium, Aiyuk took a backward lateral and worked magic, breaking a tackle to find the right sideline, steaming gracefully toward the end zone, and completing a jaw-dropping 38-yard touchdown play by vaulting high and long over a Philadelphia defender to complete the longest scoring run by a San Francisco wideout in 18 seasons. This also served as San Francisco’s Best Indication of Things to Come as Aiyuk had plenty more highlight plays in-store before his rookie season was over.
Most astounding number: The injury-ravaged 49ers had a remarkable 85 individuals play snaps this year in the NFL’s season of COVID19, smashing the previous team record and becoming a new standard that we feel pretty comfortable saying will never be broken.
Best mix-and-match: San Francisco’s defensive secondary saw 14 different starting combinations this season, and yet the 49ers still managed to finish fourth in the NFL in passing defense. That’s a whole lot of guys doing a whole lot of something right together.
This story is from the February/March 2021 edition of Niner Report.
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This story is from the February/March 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.
