There’s no doubt the San Francisco 49ers will look different than they have in years past.
Just how different they look, and just how much improvement they make will help set the foundation for what first-year head coach Kyle Shanahan’s teams look like in years to come.
Though Shanahan is the 49ers’ fourth head coach in four seasons, he’ll enjoy far more leeway than San Francisco’s last two hires, Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly. Shanahan and new general manager John Lynch have overhauled the roster, adding 30 new players and placing their trust in 14 rookies.
On Sunday, this year’s iteration of the 49ers open the season against the Carolina Panthers, and with the first game of the year rapidly approaching, we zeroed in on five players to focus on whose repetitions should provide a strong indication of what’s to come for San Francisco moving forward.
1. Reuben Foster
Despite slipping to the 31st overall pick in the NFL Draft, expectations are sky-high for the linebacker out of Alabama who has as much raw talent as any rookie in the league. 49ers’ defensive coordinator Robert Saleh expects Foster to be able to defend Carolina rookie Christian McCaffrey in space, and the battle of first-year players will whet the appetite of fans around the league looking for the next generation of stars. If Foster holds his own on Sunday, it could be a harbinger of what the 49ers have to look forward to in the future, considering Foster’s assignments against players like McCaffrey and fellow rookie Curtis Samuel will rank among the toughest he’ll take on this year.
2. Matt Breida
Earlier this week, 49ers’ veteran Carlos Hyde announced that he expected to share carries with Breida, the undrafted rookie out of Georgia Southern who came out of nowhere to earn the right to provide insurance behind Hyde in San Francisco’s backfield. Breida is shifty and elusive, and Shanahan clearly has a lot of confidence in the abilities Breida brings to the table. Watch Breida on Sunday because his workload may offer a glimpse into how the 49ers view Hyde over the long haul. If Hyde earns the lion’s share of the work, he may have proven to the coaching staff he’s capable of shouldering the load in Shanahan’s zone-blocking scheme. If Hyde splits the work evenly, it could be a sign that San Francisco is determined to find a better fit in the backfield.
3. Trent Taylor
Taylor was one of the most productive college receivers in the country in each of the last two years, and capped off his college career with a 136-reception season during his final campaign with Louisiana Tech. Despite being slightly built at 5-foot-8 and 181 pounds, Taylor has overcome his size to become a factor on the 49ers’ depth chart. Taylor’s presence is one of the reasons the 49ers were comfortable with releasing Jeremy Kerley, which indicates San Francisco believes in his ability to impact an offense early in his career. There are still questions about how Taylor will transition to the NFL level, and Sunday is his first opportunity to prove that he can play his way into a significant role with San Francisco.
4. Laken Tomlinson
Tomlinson may not play a down on Sunday, which means you may have to look out for him on the sidelines, but that’s one of the reasons he made our “Players to Watch” list. If Tomlinson is active and works into the game at guard, it’s a clear sign that Zane Beadles is on his way out of the starting lineup at left guard. If Tomlinson isn’t active or doesn’t receive many reps, it could indicate that his ability to process the 49ers’ scheme and learn San Francisco’s system is taking longer than expected. The 49ers brought Tomlinson in because they wanted more depth at the guard position, but in an ideal world, he’ll be able to maximize the potential that helped him become a first round draft choice and assume a starting role.
5. Jaquiski Tartt
This spot was reserved for safety Jimmie Ward, but with Ward now doubtful thanks to his hamstring injury, Tartt will likely have the first crack at functioning as San Francisco’s single-high safety in Saleh’s new 4-3 scheme. The role of serving as the last line of defense for San Francisco is a challenging one, and it’s a role that Shanahan and Saleh ultimately hope that Ward is capable of thriving in. However, for the purposes of Sunday’s game, watch Tartt or undrafted rookie Lorenzo Jerome in this spot, and see how the responsibilities have shifted from the way the 49ers’ free safeties have played over the past few seasons. If Saleh’s scheme works, it’ll largely be due to the free safety’s ability to cover ground and make plays in the open field, so all eyes will be on how Tartt –or Jerome– handles the role on Sunday.