Which 49ers make Santa’s naughty and nice lists in 2021?

We can only guess which 49ers players received presents from Santa Claus for being good, as well as those who received coal in their stockings.

The San Francisco 49ers have been playing well as of late, going from a team that was looking at a sub-.500 season and a lot of serious questions that needed to be addressed, all the way towards being a team on the cusp of making the playoffs in 2021.

Quite the turnaround.

Perhaps many of the Niners were realizing Christmas and the holiday season was right around the corner, so some last-ditch be-good efforts were on everyone’s mind to ensure Santa Claus didn’t put them on his naughty list.

Many on San Francisco’s roster are hoping to open presents and gifts from Santa for being good, while others are surely hoping they weren’t bad enough to receive lumps of coal in their stockings from Kris Kringle.

And while that decision is ultimately up to Mr. Claus himself, let’s predict which 49ers he put on his nice list and which ones ended up being naughty.

Santa’s nice list: 49ers WR Deebo Samuel

“Nice” is a relative term here.

Wide receiver Deebo Samuel isn’t nice, per se. He bullies defenders, runs right through them and knocks mouthpieces out of their mouths. Seriously:

But it’s nice to watch the Niners’ hybrid wide receiver/running back play, that’s for sure.

Whether it’s as a rusher or as a pass-catcher, the way Samuel has been used is redefining the meaning of “positionless” football, and at least the third-year pro gets some credit from doing whatever is asked of him.

Santa will appreciate that.

Samuel became San Francisco’s first wide receiver to crest 1,000 yards receiving in a season since Anquan Boldin did so way back in 2014, so that should be more than enough to warrant some nice gifts from Santa this holiday season.

Although Samuel might not want to regift that mouthpiece.