49ers roster: 4 players who need more snaps in second half of 2021

There are a number of younger players on the 49ers who are not getting as many snaps as they should be. Here we take a look at four of those such players.

The San Francisco 49ers had quite the season-altering game during their Monday Night Football rout of the Los Angeles Rams 31-10.

After a lackluster 3-5 start to the 2021 season, there was a feeling the Niners were trending down. Now they sit at 4-5 are have defeated a team many were picking to be a real Super Bowl contender.

Needless to say, they are now trending up.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan made it a point to play physical football and run the ball right at the Rams’ “feared” defense, which features multiple-time Defensive Player of the Year Award winner Aaron Donald and newly acquired former Super Bowl MVP, Von Miller.

One massive contributor in the game was rookie running back Elijah Mitchell. The sixth-round pick out of Louisiana has started almost every game this season since Week 2, after an injury to starter Raheem Mostert.

Another rookie, safety Talanoa Hufanga, has played well in his last three starts in place of the injured Jaquiski Tartt. The fifth-round pick out of USC can be seen all over the field on defense and has drawn comparisons to his mentor and fellow Trojan alum, Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu.

However, there is a slew of rookies who haven’t gotten a chance to prove themselves as yet on the field. In many of these cases, they have lost potential snaps to veterans.

A few rookies have shown extreme potential and should be given more snaps in the second half of 2021 to help further their development.

Let’s take at four such players who deserve more reps.