49ers roster: Power ranking 5 most important players entering 2021

The San Francisco 49ers season rests on the shoulders of these important players, as they look to return to the playoffs in 2021.

With the 2021 season inching closer and closer, the San Francisco 49ers are eyeing a return to the playoffs and potential Super Bowl glory.

Most people would agree that the 2020 season was a sunk cost for the Niners, primarily due to the injuries that the team suffered. Without stars such as EDGE Nick Bosa and tight end George Kittle contributing on the roster for the majority of the year, San Francisco just couldn’t get out of the starting blocks.

So, don’t pay too much attention to the results of last season. This is still a very good football team that can go a long way as long as it’s firing on all cylinders.

Obviously, for this to change, the 49ers are hoping for a reversal of fortunes on the injury front this year. They’ve lost a key member of the running back rotation already in Jeff Wilson Jr., which will hopefully be covered by rookie running back Trey Sermon and, to a lesser extent, Elijah Mitchell, so the Niners will be hoping to make it through the rest of the preseason unscathed.

Some players are more important than others, though.

San Francisco struggled for precisely that reason a year ago, as the players lost were very vital to the overall efforts. It’s one thing to lose depth players, it’s another to lose your stars.

For the 49ers to make it back to the playoffs in 2021, there are five exceptionally important players they need to perform to get there.