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San Francisco 49ers: Expectations for the 5 Worst Players in 2016 Season

By Peter Panacy

Aug 29, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) walks off the field after the game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos won 19-12. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 29, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) walks off the field after the game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos won 19-12. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aug 17, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers center Marcus Martin (66) against the Denver Broncos in the inaugural football game at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 17, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers center Marcus Martin (66) against the Denver Broncos in the inaugural football game at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Offensive Lineman Marcus Martin

2015 PFF Grades:

  • Overall: minus-45.6
  • Pass Blocking: minus-10.4
  • Run Blocking: minus-33.8
  • Penalty: minus-1.5

The distinction of the worst 49ers player from last year, according to PFF, goes to third-year pro offensive lineman Marcus Martin — the same guy on whom San Francisco utilized a third-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.

Martin was highly touted coming out of USC and, perhaps, he declared for the draft a little too early. He’s only 22 years old, so there could be some slight hopes he actually develops into something useful.

But clips like these don’t speak well to Martin’s abilities:

Pro Football Focus ranked San Francisco’s offensive line No. 30 in run blocking last season. And Martin’s minus-33.8 run-blocking grade was the worst out of all qualifying Niner candidates.

This isn’t a vote of confidence.

To be fair, Martin probably shouldn’t have started at all in 2014 and 2015. But incumbent center Daniel Kilgore was still recovering from a 2014 knee injury, which forced Martin into the fray a little too early.

It will be interesting to see where Martin fits into the 49ers plans this season. Kilgore is all but going to assume starting duties at center. And the Niners likely want guards Zane Beadles and Joshua Garnett starting as well.

This relegates Martin to a backup role.

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The book on Martin isn’t closed just yet. 2016 will be a season in which the third-year pro will look to solidify a spot on the depth chart and improve upon his lowly numbers from the previous two years.

At 22 years old, Martin still has time to develop into something useful at the NFL level.

But it’s safe to assume he hasn’t gotten off on the right foot.

Next: Expectations for 49ers Best 5 Players in 2016

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated.