5 under-radar 49ers players to watch over final three regular-season games

The San Francisco 49ers are going to draw a lot of attention over their final three games of 2019, yet these five under-the-radar players are going to have crucial roles.

In the previous two seasons, the San Francisco 49ers depth simply wasn’t good enough to overcome the sheer amount of attrition head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad endured between 2017 and 2018.

On a positive side, though, those two seasons gave Shanahan and Co. a great deal of evaluation time to determine which players would be essential in what’s become the best Niners season since earlier this decade.

Now at 11-2 and on the cusp of reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2013, the 2019 49ers have been asked to test their depth again, only this time many of the role players and reserves have been rising to the occasion.

For the most part, at least.

San Francisco has again dealt with a lot of injury. Some, like cornerback Richard Sherman and EDGE Dee Ford, are likely going to miss a substantial amount of time with injuries over the team’s final three regular-season games. Others, like linebacker Kwon Alexander and center Weston Richburg, have been ruled out for the rest of the year with their respective injuries.

This puts increased pressure on many of the depth pieces Shanahan has at his disposal, and a number of these under-the-radar players will be tasked with a greater deal of responsibility as the Niners look to make a deep push into the postseason. Sure, they won’t receive anywhere near the level of attention given elsewhere on the roster. But their efforts may be just as important.

Here are five less-known players to watch over the final stretch of the regular season.