49ers: 5 players with the most on the line for the 2018 season

3. DE Solomon Thomas

The San Francisco 49ers expected a bit more from the third overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft during his first year in the league, although defensive end Solomon Thomas showed progress toward the end of the season. Thomas will look to improve on that late-season progress in 2018.

Lynch will likely be patient with Thomas — particularly because the 49ers’ GM was instrumental in selecting the defensive lineman after meeting Thomas in class at Stanford University. The 49ers’ coaching staff has no choice in the matter, as Thomas’ four-year, $28 million contract is fully guaranteed.

However, the 49ers’ fan base will be less forgiving to the former first-round draft pick if he fails to drastically improve his play in 2018. Thomas can look to fellow defensive lineman Arik Armstead in order to see what the future holds if the second-year player is unable to live up to his draft stock.

Most Niner fans — and many in the media — have given up on Armstead due to his injury history, even though the defender is one of the league’s top pass rushers at his position when healthy.

Although Thomas remained relatively healthy during his rookie season, he offered nowhere near Armstead’s level of pass-rushing productivity — although he was able to convert pressures into sacks on occassion — but he did show flashes as a run defender.

Lynch and Shanahan drafted Thomas to pressure quarterbacks and cause havoc in offensive backfields. With a full regular season and offseason under his belt, Thomas needs to play like a No. 3 overall draft pick this season, or he could lose the faith of “The Faithful.”