San Francisco 49ers: 5 strongest positions on 2020 roster
By Peter Panacy
These are the 49ers’ five strongest positions entering 2020.
Despite some significant offseason changes, the San Francisco 49ers still boast one of the most talented and deepest rosters heading into 2020.
Yes, the team bid farewell to notable players following their loss in Super Bowl LIV: defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders and left tackle Joe Staley, to name the biggest. But the Niners also landed ample reinforcements to address each loss, both through this year’s NFL Draft and a blockbuster trade with the Washington Redskins, which acquired perennial Pro Bowl tackle Trent Williams.
While there are some weak spots on the roster, which Niner Noise discussed here earlier, the vast majority of the team is in awfully good shape to compete for yet another Super Bowl run.
And hopefully, win it this time.
But which positions are the strongest in comparison to the rest? That’s the question we attempt to answer right here, starting off with the guys under center at quarterback.
No. 5: 49ers Quarterbacks
Projected 53-Man Roster Additions: Jimmy Garoppolo, Nick Mullens
The 49ers have three quarterbacks capable of starting: Jimmy Garoppolo, Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard.
While Beathard’s immediate future is uncertain, particularly if head coach Kyle Shanahan elects to keep only two signal-callers on his 53-man roster this season, unlike last year, at least the Niners’ third-round pick from 2017 has starting experience under his belt.
Even if those results produced a 1-9 record.
But that’s overshadowed by Mullens’ prowess, which became national news in 2018 when Garoppolo suffered his season-ending ACL tear. Simply put, Mullens is a high-quality backup and would be capable of keeping the Niners in contention should Garoppolo go down again.
As for Jimmy G, well, his 3,978 pass yards in 2019 ranked fourth best in franchise history for a single season. While Garoppolo has yet to establish himself as a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback, his prowess last year is enough to put the quarterbacks on this list of strongest positions for San Francisco.