It’s way too early to start thinking which San Francisco 49ers players have a shot at the Pro Bowl in 2019. Or is it? Well, that’s what we’ll do as the 2018 regular season draws closer.
The San Francisco 49ers had only two players selected to the Pro Bowl after the 2017 season — fullback Kyle Juszczyk and left tackle Joe Staley, who entered as an alternate.
It wasn’t much of a surprise, of course, as the Niners finished the season with a 6-10 record. Sub-.500 teams rarely send more than a handful of representatives anyway.
Yet all that appears to be changing, as head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad heads into 2018 with plenty of promise. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo appears to be the real deal, and the Niners have more than a few means to improve the roster this offseason.
Additionally, having started more rookies than any other team last year, one can hope San Francisco’s 2017 rookie class makes the oh-so often “big jump” between years one and two.
True, there is so much to transpire between now and the 2019 Pro Bowl. Free agency, an NFL Draft and that little thing we call the regular season will all weigh in on chances.
But for the heck of it (mostly to change up the subject matter from free-agent targets and NFL Draft prospects/needs), Niner Noise makes some early predictions for players making the 2019 Pro Bowl cut.
Let’s start off by those on the fringes but barely miss out.