49ers depth chart: 3 formerly injured players who are X-factors in 2020

The 49ers are getting some injury reinforcements back in 2020.

In some ways, it’s almost a miracle the San Francisco 49ers made it all the way to the Super Bowl last season.

This, when you consider just how many injuries head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad dealt with amid an otherwise stellar 2019 campaign.

In total, the Niners put 19 players on injured reserve last season. While some were players essentially redshirted on the year, many suffered notable injuries during the season itself. And according to Football Outsiders‘ adjusted games lost metric, San Francisco’s 95.8 AGL mark ranked fifth highest among all teams in 2019.

The offensive line went through serious attrition with only left guard Laken Tomlinson appearing in all 16 games. Tight end George Kittle missed time. So did EDGE Dee Ford.

All told, it’s amazing the 49ers went 13-3 and finished with the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

A number of these players managed to make a difference last season despite injuries. Others, however, never got to provide any sort of impact on the field, suffering injuries before Week 1 even kicked off.

Those are the players we explore here.

San Francisco is expecting a number of players back for its follow-up 2020 campaign. And in some ways, they can be viewed as additional “free-agent” signings, even though they were under contract already, as they’ll be reinforcing many a position where some additional depth is needed.

And if these players are able to contribute in a positive way, they can be essential X-factors for the Niners as they look to back up their efforts last year and win the final game of the upcoming season.