© Kelley L Cox | 2017 Dec 24
49ers training camp officially begins Thursday, marking the start of a six-month-plus marathon that spans the NFL season. Starting from two weeks out, KNBR counted down the days to training camp by highlighting San Francisco’s most important players for each day preceding camp.
Below is the comprehensive list of rankings, including links to the full bios attached to each player’s name.
Juszczyk is the highest-paid fullback in the NFL by a wide margin. Kyle Shanahan played Juszczyk more any other fullback in the NFL during the 2017 season. Juszczyk earned his second Pro Bowl in his first season with the Niners last year.
The plan is for Thomas to play the LEO, or the weak-side edge rusher, role on base downs this year. He experienced an up-and-down rookie campaign after he was selected third overall in the 2017 NFL Draft. He is an important member of a returning defensive line that includes no one with 10 career sacks.
Colbert went from seventh-round draft pick to a legitimate starter at free safety in one year. His first start coincided with the Niners’ opening win of the 2017 season, and he played well enough to secure that starting role entering 2018. The free safety role provides important over-the-top help in Robert Saleh’s Cover-3 scheme that asks its cornerbacks to exclusively defend their thirds of the field.
Garcon was on pace for 80 catches and 1,000 yards before he suffered a broken bone in his neck, which sidelined him for the final eight games. He turns 32 in August, but he is still the 49ers’ No. 1 receiver. Shanahan helped Garcon achieve a career year (113 receptions, 181 targets, and 1,346 receiving yards) in 2013 with Washington.
Richburg signed a five-year, $47.5 million in March, penciling him in as the 49ers’ starting center for the foreseeable future. In an offense that requires its centers to move laterally and upfield, Richburg is an important asset. He will form a partnership with Jimmy Garoppolo, who also signed a five-year, slightly-more-lucrative deal one month earlier.
McKinnon never had a featured role throughout his four seasons in Minnesota. That all changes now. His speed, receiving abilities, blocking, and one-cut running style figures to blend with Shanahan’s offense much better than his predecessor Carlos Hyde.
The 49ers used the No. 9 overall pick in April’s draft to select McGlinchey, the Notre Dame product widely regarded as the class’ top tackle. The 49ers’ 2018 schedule is loaded with first-team All-Pro edge rushers — including Justin Houston (Kansas City), Von Miller (Denver), and Khalil Mack (Oakland)— who will line up across McGlinchey. Welcome to the NFL.
Witherspoon became a full-time starter about midway through the 2017 season and proved he belonged. He has spent the offseason working with newly acquired Richard Sherman. If the three-time All-Pro cornerback returns to form, opposing offenses may regularly game-plan to Witherspoon’s side.
Armstead enters a pivotal fourth career season after dealing with injuries throughout his career with the 49ers. The 49ers picked up his fifth-year option this offseason, underscoring his importance. He will line up at big end on base downs and may see some LEO on passing downs. There is plenty of unfulfilled potential with Armstead, who has six career sacks in three seasons.
Foster overcame a hellacious offseason featuring a domestic violence case before the charges were dropped and he returned to the 49ers in May. The 24-year-old linebacker is the most promising young star on this 49ers defense. He showed that last year in about a half-season’s worth, finishing second on the team in tackles and earning the Defensive Rookie of the Month Award in November, despite playing just three games.
Sherman traversed across the NFC West landscape when signed with the 49ers in March, a move that shocked many. He immediately bolsters a 49ers secondary that looks completely different than a year ago. Sherman is expected to be full-go in camp, as he continues to recover from an Achilles rupture he suffered last November. Whether he is able to return to top form will have a major impact on this defense’s success.
Staley enters his 12th season with the 49ers, and he is as important as ever. The six-time Pro Bowler is tasked with protecting Garoppolo’s blindside.
The 49ers coaches know they have a star in the making in Buckner, the foundation upon which the entire 49ers defensive is built. After leading all interior defensive linemen in snaps his rookie year, he led all defensive tackles with 19 quarterback hits in 2017. All signs point to him exploding in 2018.
The savior of the 2017 season, the man of the offseason, and the poster child for the current 49ers regime, Garoppolo is the 49ers’ most important player for the 2018 season. The 49ers traded a second-round pick to New England for Garoppolo last year, and the rest is history. He was named starter about a month later, despite having minimal knowledge of Shanahan’s offense, and led the 49ers to five straight wins. He signed a five-year $137.5 million contract in February, solidifying him as the face of the Niners for at least the next half-decade.
