San Francisco 49ers: 3 rookies from 2019 NFL Draft to watch in 2020
By Peter Panacy
The San Francisco 49ers received some excellent production from their 2019 NFL Draft class, yet some other second-year players are ones to watch this upcoming 2020 season.
In 2019, the San Francisco 49ers went from the No. 2 overall-selecting team in the NFL Draft to the NFC champions.
This, thanks to a lot of the right pieces coming together, which included last year’s rookie draft class.
The top names performed above expectations, of course. San Francisco’s No. 1 draft pick, EDGE Nick Bosa, earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, while second-round wide receiver Deebo Samuel solidified himself as a legitimate pass-catching threat. Simply put, San Francisco doesn’t make it to the Super Bowl without Bosa’s pass-rushing prowess and Samuel’s playmaking abilities.
Needless to say, both Bosa and Samuel should be players worth watching this upcoming season.
Some players can take a year or two to develop, though, and it’s not always fair to assume immediate impacts from rookies right away. A couple of the remaining 49ers draft picks from 2019 provided some substantial impact in year one, yes. But one could assume or at least hope they wind up playing even more crucial roles this upcoming season.
Bosa and Samuel have solidified their roles already heading into 2020. There’s no reason to give them more would-be attention than they currently deserve, as they’ve established themselves as critical pieces.
Yet for the rest of the 2019 draft class, there are a number of players who should command some extra attention as the Niners look to turn each of those contributors into bona fide pieces of what’s still a legitimate Super Bowl roster.
Here are three other second-year players who should command your attention over the course of 2020.