San Francisco 49ers: 3 underhyped rookies entering 2020 training camp

Fans should be paying a bit more attention to these three 49ers rookies who’ll be players to watch in 2020 training camp.

It’s not surprising the bulk of attention going to the San Francisco 49ers‘ 2020 rookie class is focusing on the team’s top two picks, defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.

Particularly in Aiyuk’s case, now considering the Niners may be without second-year wide receiver Deebo Samuel (foot) for a few weeks into the regular season.

First-round picks garner a lot of attention, and rightfully so. Teams investing a Round 1 selection are expecting ample contributions in return, particularly if those players entered the draft with a lot of hype anyway.

But with San Francisco not boasting any picks between Rounds 2 and 4, it’s not surprising to see the hype fall off quite a bit. One of the day-three selections, wide receiver Jauan Jennings, has received his fair share of hype, particularly for a seventh-round pick. And it’s OK to assume he’ll get some notable attention when the 49ers report to training camp later this summer.

How about some of the underhyped first-year players? Which ones should stand out there?

Well, it’s a good question. Keep in mind, the Niners have received some notable contributions from less-known players in prior training camps. Now-Miami Dolphins running back Matt Breida was a relative unknown his rookie season in 2017, yet he emerged as a hidden-gem find during offseason workouts. Seventh-round wide receiver Richie James seemingly came out of nowhere during 2018 training camp, too.

As such, Niner Noise explores three of these unheralded and underhyped rookies on San Francisco’s roster and why you should pay attention to them during training camp.