49ers roster: 4 players who deserve more snaps vs. Bears in Week 8

The 49ers cannot afford to lose to the Bears this weekend, and it’s time for the young talent on this team to ensure that they won’t.

The San Francisco 49ers are taking their four-game losing streak on the road to the Chicago Bears in Week 8, and the game between two NFC Wild Card hopefuls kicks off on Sunday at Soldier Field.

The Niners desperately need a statement win here to keep them afloat and in playoff contention. But if they plan to execute here, a few things have to change.

Namely, the players who are trusted to make plays on the field.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan is not making personnel decisions that make sense. At 2-4, it seems he’s more worried about maintaining his pride than winning football games. The players he invested in the most during the last couple of drafts are being sidelined for veterans or even fellow rookies who just aren’t winning football games.

No excuse here for this coaching staff to stick with their stagnant lineup for another week. Let some of these young players show what they can do to provide value to this team in a time of need.

The current set of starters isn’t cutting it, so the 49ers need to open the field and see who can step up and give this team a much-needed jolt ahead of some tough upcoming divisional matchups.

These 4 49ers need more snaps vs. Bears if San Fransisco wants a shot at playoffs.

4. 49ers RB Trey Sermon

Nobody expected running back Trey Sermon to fall entirely out of the rotation when the Niners traded up to secure the No. 88 pick from Ohio State.

But that’s the state of things today.

Sermon’s spot was snatched out from under him before the season even started. Fellow 2021 back Elijah Mitchell has proven speed and explosiveness that have earned him 65 percent of the snaps in games where he’s been uninjured. Mix in Kyle Juszczyk with a splash of JaMycal Hasty, and you end up with a Sermon snap count of two or less through four of six games.

As a third-rounder who hasn’t given outsiders any reason to doubt his ability to contribute, Sermon deserves more offensive snaps. He deserves to be a factor. Especially on a team plagued by injuries, Shanahan has to be thinking about how he can optimize Mitchell’s usage in a sustainable way that doesn’t wear his lead back down.

Sermon has the potential to be that perfect compliment.

Week 8 against Chicago marks an opportunity to increase Sermon’s usage too good to pass up. Chicago’s defense is bottom 10 in opponent rushing yards allowed this season. What’s more, the Bears could be without the help of one of the league’s best run stoppers in EDGE Khalil Mack. If Shanahan is looking to start making good decisions, he’ll have to take advantage of a potentially depleted subpar run defense and get his underused rookie into the rotation.

Let Mitchell and Sermon feed off of each other and see if they can carve out an effective dual-threat against in a low-opposition environment.