San Francisco 49ers: Predicting a Week 1 53-man roster, depth chart for 2018
By Peter Panacy
Niner Noise takes a look at the San Francisco 49ers roster heading into 2018 and predicts how the 53-man group and depth chart will look when Week 1 of the regular season kicks off.
The San Francisco 49ers open up the 2018 regular season with a road contest against the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 9 at 1 p.m. ET.
Meanwhile, there’s a lot of time between now and that final moment when head coach Kyle Shanahan and Co. have to decide who makes the cut from the Niners’ 90-man offseason roster.
There are plenty of X-factors and unknowns between now and Week 1. The 49ers kick off training camp on July 25, while the first week of the preseason starts Aug. 9. Players inevitably rise or fall, and there’s always the looming concern of injury.
But based off what we know now, here are some predictions on how San Francisco’s Week 1 depth chart and 53-man roster will look when the regular season rolls around.
Note: Backups listed in italics. Non-specialist special teamers are listed with their respective positions.
Special Teams (3)
Kicker: Robbie Gould
Punter: Bradley Pinion
Long-Snapper: Kyle Nelson
No real surprises here. Veteran kicker Robbie Gould reassumes his duties this season after an impressive 2017 campaign, in which he converted 95.1 of his field-goal attempts — second best in the NFL last year.
The hope, of course, is Gould won’t be called upon as much this season, as the Niners look to improve upon what was the league’s 27th best red-zone offense a year ago.
Meanwhile, veteran punter Bradley Pinion hits a contract year. And since few fans know long-snapper Kyle Nelson’s name, there’s no reason to expect a change here either.