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Broncos vs. 49ers: 5 players to watch for San Francisco’s preseason matchup

By Peter Panacy

DENVER, CO - AUGUST 20: Linebacker Dekoda Watson #57 of the Denver Broncos sacks quarterback Jeff Driskel #6 of the San Francisco 49ers during a preseason NFL game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on August 20, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - AUGUST 20: Linebacker Dekoda Watson #57 of the Denver Broncos sacks quarterback Jeff Driskel #6 of the San Francisco 49ers during a preseason NFL game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on August 20, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /
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SANTA CLARA, CA – AUGUST 17: Players from the San Francisco 49ers take the field before the preseason game against the Denver Broncos at Levi’s Stadium on August 17, 2014 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA – AUGUST 17: Players from the San Francisco 49ers take the field before the preseason game against the Denver Broncos at Levi’s Stadium on August 17, 2014 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

The San Francisco 49ers host the visiting Denver Broncos for the second week of NFL preseason action. Niner Noise takes a look at five players to watch during this bout.

Both the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos are gearing up for each team’s second week of preseason football, following back-to-back joint practices outside Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

The Niners, coming off a 27-17 exhibition victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1, will look to rectify a number of issues that surfaced during that particular game.

Penalties were a particular problem — 17 for a total of 131 yards.

But there were other issues too. San Francisco’s first-team defense didn’t look particularly great on the opening drive in Kansas City, so that will be something to monitor this weekend. And the first-team offense, led by quarterback Brian Hoyer, struggled to get anything going.

These, along with depth battles and fringe players, will be at the heart of what head coach Kyle Shanahan will be monitoring on Saturday.

The game kicks off on August 19 at 10 p.m. ET from Levi’s Stadium.

In this slideshow, we’ll take a look at five 49ers players to monitor throughout the game as we gear up for the regular season, now not all that far away.

Let’s kick things off with Hoyer.