49ers: 3 rookies who could be Pro Bowlers by 2021
By Peter Panacy
Perhaps these three 49ers rookies wind up making the Pro Bowl after their first two seasons at the NFL level.
There’s never any shortage of hype or lofty expectations when looking at San Francisco 49ers first-year players, particularly given some of the pleasant surprises the team has enjoyed over the past few years.
Case in point, All-Pro tight end George Kittle seemingly came out of nowhere in the 2017 NFL Draft and is slated to be a perennial Pro Bowler after being named to the league’s all-star game in both of the last two seasons.
2019 rookie EDGE Nick Bosa, the No. 2 overall pick from that year’s draft, also earned the accolade his first season at the NFL level.
The Niners were limited on their 2020 NFL Draft selections, however, bringing back just five rookie prospects when the three-day event was complete:
- DT Javon Kinlaw, Round 1
- WR Brandon Aiyuk, Round 1
- OL Colton McKivitz, Round 5
- TE Charlie Woerner, Round 6
- WR Jauan Jennings, Round 7
Additionally, San Francisco inked 10 undrafted free agents following the draft, and there are a few names worth monitoring from those ranks, too.
One of them even makes Niner Noise’s hopeful list of eventual Pro Bowlers.
While expecting big things from a rookie right away is always risky business, let’s predict three players who have a great shot at making the Pro Bowl by the end of their second seasons at the NFL level.
Starting off with a bit of a dark-horse prediction, one of those UDFA players, Washington running back Salvon Ahmed, who has a long way to go to even make the 53-man roster in 2020 but could end up being quite the surprise.