San Francisco 49ers: 10 players who should see more playing time over the rest of 2017

At 0-8 and with a plethora of injuries, the San Francisco 49ers’ 2017 isn’t going anywhere. Continuing the youth movement is a necessity, and these 10 younger players should be given more playing time over the second half of the season.

Putting the best possible team on the field is every head coach’s goal. But for Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers, those efforts have resulted in a 0-8 start to 2017 and an overwhelming number of injuries to one-time starters.

They’d never say it, but the Niners have thrown in the towel. Shanahan and Co. threw the towel on the season when now-former San Francisco quarterback Brian Hoyer was benched for a raw and untested rookie, C.J. Beathard, in Week 6 against the Washington Redskins.

This is part of a youth movement the 49ers are employing. And in many ways, it’s been the approach the Niners have taken before the season even began.

But the youth-over-experience approach needs to be taken to another level. With eight games left on San Francisco’s schedule, giving some first- and second-year players more playing time should take almost complete precedent over veteran snaps.

After all, the rest of 2017 is little more than an audition for 2018.

In this slideshow, we’ll look at 10 younger players who should see the lion’s share of snaps between now and the conclusion of Week 17.