5 49ers players who should see more playing time vs. Buccaneers

The San Francisco 49ers come off their bye week with a road contest against the struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and these five players should get more playing time during the contest.

Two things are going to happen over the remainder of San Francisco 49ers games in 2018. First, the Niners are going to try to avoid being the team selecting No. 1 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft. Fans may not like the idea, but players and coaches don’t want that stigma.

Second, head coach Kyle Shanahan and his staff are going to use the final six games of the season to determine which players could end up being cornerstone pieces for the following year.

If anything, these final contests are little more than auditions for 2019.

All that starts with a Week 12 road contest against the 3-8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Coming off the bye week, the 49ers should have had a chance to work in some possible lineup changes — Niner Noise came up with some predictions of these here.

We’ve already seen one switch, as Shanahan has gone from quarterback C.J. Beathard to previous practice squad signal-caller Nick Mullens. At this point, the Niners pretty much know what they have in Beathard. The question now is whether or not Mullens is a proverbial “one-hit wonder” or ultimately has a higher upside than his predecessor.

So, when it comes to backing up quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in 2019, this is a crucial evaluation period.

But what other players could wind up seeing an increased role when the 49ers visit the Buccaneers this Sunday?

Here are five who are worthy of additional snaps.