49ers: 5 players who should see increased roles over rest of 2018

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SANTA CLARA, CA – NOVEMBER 26: Tanner McEvoy #19 of the Seattle Seahawks is tackled by Ahkello Witherspoon #23 of the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on November 26, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

At 1-5, the 2018 season has turned into yet another rebuild year for the San Francisco 49ers, meaning these five players should see increased roles from now own.

Following a 1-5 start to the 2018 season, it’s safe to say the San Francisco 49ers are no longer gunning for an outside shot to make the playoffs. Winning games and staying competitive is important, yes. But this year quickly went from being a possible magical postseason run into another year of preparation and development as soon as quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was lost to a season-ending ACL injury.

And the way in which the Niners have lost many of those five games is a pure indicator this team is nowhere close to legitimately competing for a playoff berth anyway.

With 2019 now being the season for head coach Kyle Shanahan and Co. to focus on for serious success, the team needs to seriously consider talent evaluation for players likely viewed as possible long-term fits. That’s what the focal point for the rest of 2018 should be — giving younger guys increased roles and seeing what the team has in them.

No more starting veterans or giving heavy workloads to players, who have a slim-to-none chance of being around next year. That does little good.

Blue Wire’s Kevin Jones put it simply:

SF needs to solve the Solomon Thomas & Ahkello Witherspoon playing time issue. Both are struggling & might be busts, but with a 1-5 record, all your early round picks should be on the field. Find out what you have and move on in 2019. Benching these guys is accomplishing nothing
— Kevin Jones (@Mr_KevinJones) October 17, 2018

Defensive end Solomon Thomas and cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon are two names on this list, for sure. And we’ll get to them in a moment.

But there are others as well. San Francisco has more than a few players worthy of seeing more field time to determine whether or not they can be key contributors in coming seasons. If they aren’t cutting it, well, there’s your answer. Time to move on.

So let’s take a look at five players whose roles should increase over the rest of 2018.

San Francisco 49ers: 5 players who should see increased roles over rest of 2018

By Peter Panacy | Oct 17, 2018

At 1-5, the 2018 season has turned into yet another rebuild year for the San Francisco 49ers, meaning these five players should see increased roles from now own.