San Francisco 49ers: 3 players who must play bigger role in 2020

The San Francisco 49ers will undergo some notable changes this offseason, which means these three players must play a bigger role in 2020 than they did last year.

While the San Francisco 49ers don’t have a ton of holes on their roster entering 2020, there are inevitably going to be some major changes.

It seems likely the Niners will lose wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders to free agency this offseason. General manager John Lynch shook up the roster a bit by trading defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts for another first-round NFL Draft pick, clearing up some cap space and freeing up money down the road Buckner otherwise would have commanded.

Defensive end Arik Armstead and safety Jimmie Ward have been re-signed, however.

Part of the ever-changing face of NFL teams is to improve and discover talent, pushing that talent into roles where those players wind up assuming bigger roles than they had previously.

Case in point, running back Raheem Mostert went from a special teams ace and infrequent offensive contributor at the start of 2019 to the 49ers’ top running back by season’s end. Few likely would have predicted that, yet it shows how any player can be thrust into a prominent role.

Same went for reserve offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill, who found himself relieving both tackles, Joe Staley and Mike McGlinchey, as well we right guard Mike Person after those three suffered injuries last season.

Who will wind up being the players assuming the bigger roles this upcoming year?

With free agency just around the corner, and the 2020 NFL Draft not far away after that, there’s a lot remaining to be determined. Yet Niner Noise explores three players who must assume a much bigger role this year if the 49ers want to continue their recent run of success.