San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Most important 49ers for 2021? Here’s 5 to watch
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk has been voted to five straight Pro Bowls. Pass rusher Samson Ebukam has zero notable accolades in his fouryear career.
Yet Ebukam will be the more important player for the 49ers in 2021. To be clear, that’s one beat writer’s opinion, but the argument here is that Ebukam plays a more impactful position and the 49ers probably won’t have much edgerushing depth behind Ebukam and Nick Bosa. Meanwhile, Juszczyk plays a key role in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense, but he logged just 43% of the snaps last
year and had just 36 touches, averaging fewer than three a game.
In other words, the 49ers could absorb the loss of Juszczyk this season more easily than that of Ebukam were he to be sidelined. For that reason, Ebukam cracked the top 10 of The Chronicle’s ranking of the most important 49ers this season while Juszczyk was left out (sorry, Kyle, you’re No. 11!).
Here is the first part of a twopart series, starting with Nos. 610:
10. QB Trey Lance
Why isn’t the player who will have the greatest impact on the franchise’s future trajectory higher on this list? Simple. The 49ers could conceivably win a Super Bowl this season without the No. 3 pick playing a snap.
Yes, Lance could be a vitally important player in 2021. But there’s a strong chance he’ll become adept at holding a clipboard and wearing a headset — if Jimmy Garoppolo stays healthy and channels the best 2019 version of himself. The 49ers believe they can reach the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons and — this won’t be the last time you read this — no rookie quarterback has ever started in a Super Bowl, let alone won a title.
Still, even if Lance is a firstyear secondstringer, he could come off the bench to upgrade what’s often been a problem area in Shanahan’s first four seasons: redzone offense. The 49ers have ranked seventh, 20th, 32nd and 27th in redzone touchdown percentage under Shanahan, who hasn’t had a mobile QB in his tenure. Lance’s wheels could create wideopen spaces in an area of the field that becomes
congested.
9. WR Brandon Aiyuk
The 49ers haven’t had a wide receiver voted to the Pro Bowl since Terrell Owens in 2003. That is, they haven’t had a scaretheopponent talent lined up outside for nearly two decades.
It’s possible Aiyuk will be the wideout to end the drought. If so, he could pair with tight end George Kittle to give defenses migraines, similar to how the Chiefs make opponents nauseous with tight end Travis Kelce and wideout Tyreek Hill.
Last year, NBC’s Chris Simms, one of Shanahan’s close friends, said Shanahan told him he thought Aiyuk might be the next Isaac Bruce before the 49ers traded up to select Aiyuk at No. 25. Bruce is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Aiyuk is a long way from Canton, but his debut season was dazzling, considering the circumstances.
Despite not having an offseason program due to the pandemic and missing the second half of training camp due to a hamstring injury, Aiyuk made a seamless transition: He had 60 catches, the thirdmost by a rookie in franchise history, for 748 yards in 12 games.
8. DE Samson Ebukam
The burden is on Ebukam to become Dee Ford. That is, the healthy version of Ford. The 49ers’ secondranked defense was at its most dominant in 2019 when Ford and fellow Pro Bowl edge rusher Nick Bosa were both on the field, collapsing the pocket from opposite sides.
Two years later, however, Bosa is returning from a torn ACL and Ford’s status is iffy due to a back injury he suffered more than 10 months ago. Ford’s injury is why the 49ers took an offseason gamble on Ebukam, signing a player who has never had more than 4.5 sacks in his first four seasons to a twoyear, $12 million deal. But Ebukam was a parttime player with the Rams, who used his athleticism to provide flashes of what he could become: He has six forced fumbles since 2017, one more than Chargers Pro Bowl passrusher Joey Bosa over that span.
If Ebukam isn’t the answer, the 49ers don’t have many options when it comes to an edge rusher to pair with Bosa. Jordan Willis has been suspended for the first six games and another possibility, Arden Key, was located on the scrap heap in April after he was released by the Raiders.
7. WR Deebo Samuel
This quote from Shanahan, not given to hyperbole, shocked me when he said it in November: “Deebo’s got a lot to work on, but he’s one of the best football players I’ve been around.”
Really? Shanahan is a 17year NFL veteran and Samuel has 16 career starts. However, Shanahan prizes versatile players who can help him create unique game plans. And Samuel is an adept passcatcher with firehydrant thighs and a nasty streak who transforms into Earl Campbell with the ball in his hands. It’s notable that the 49ers went 32 last year when Samuel played at least 25 snaps and were 38 in the games he didn’t.
A vital part of the 49ers’ offense is Samuel’s ability to scare defenses when he’s used in jetsweep motion. On such plays, he takes handoffs, catches pitch passes or creates openings for others by drawing defenders to him without ever touching the ball.
The 49ers have Kittle, Samuel and Aiyuk. That’s a formidable trio. The issue: They lack depth at tight end and wide receiver, meaning an injury to one of the Big Three will probably result in a next man up who’s not up to adequately filling the void. Based on his history, Samuel is the most likely to be sidelined. Last year, in his second NFL season, he missed nine games due to a broken foot and hamstring injuries. At South
Carolina, he missed 21 of 51 games.
It’s vital that he stays healthy. Just ask Shanahan.
6. LB Fred Warner
Inside linebacker is not considered a premium spot in the NFL because the position is more about runstuffing in a passhappy league. But Warner is a notable exception.
A hybrid linebacker at BYU who routinely covered slot receivers, Warner’s coverage skills have translated to the NFL. Last year, according to Next Gen Stats, Warner was the NFL’s fourthbest defender in pass coverage. An illuminating note: The other nine players in the top 10 were defensive backs. Warner also impacted the pass game by rushing on 93 snaps, recording career highs in QB pressures (13) and QB hits (7).
His doitall ability — he ranks fifth in the NFL in tackles (367) since entering the league in 2018 — explains how the 49ers ranked fifth in total defense last year when three Pro Bowl players, Ford, Bosa and cornerback Richard Sherman, combined to miss 40 games.