49ers roster: Taybor Pepper is rad (and you can’t disagree)

Yes, Niner Noise talks about 49ers specialists, and Taybor Pepper might be a fan-favorite despite the lack of focus on long-snappers.

Every year, when Niner Noise runs our annual “Who is?” type of article series on San Francisco 49ers players during the offseason, we have to pause and take a look at perhaps the most forgotten position of them all.

The long-snapper.

This thankless job only goes noticed when things are bad. And fans may recall how former Niners long-snapper Kyle Nelson flamed out horribly early during the 2020 season, which resulted in him being dismissed from the team’s roster not long thereafter.

No such worries for San Francisco’s incumbent specialist, Taybor Pepper.

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com
Generated 7/17/2022.

Pepper, whom the 49ers called upon to help alleviate Nelson’s departure, is now entering his third season with the team.

And, hey. he was credited with two tackles in 2020. How about that?

Again, it’s hard to quantify a long-snapper’s impact on a team unless he’s completely botching snaps on punts and field-goal attempts, and Pepper doesn’t enter the upcoming 2022 campaign with that reputation.

That makes our analysis of him this season much easier.

Why Taybor Pepper stays rad for 49ers in 2022

Aside from being a hilarious follow on Twitter (he is), the 27-year-old Pepper hasn’t left anything to be desired for the Niners on their critical third phase of the game.

Seriously, follow Pepper on Twitter:

As far as the on-field stuff is concerned, Pepper’s best service will be if he goes unnoticed during those aforementioned punts and kicks.

No problems there, and Pepper is doing his job well.

Why Taybor Pepper stops being rad for 49ers in 2022

Fans can recall how Nelson melted down two seasons ago, and that ultimately led to his departure and Pepper joining the squad.

Botched snaps are about the only thing that could undo Pepper as Niner Noise’s reigning cult-hero champion:

Read More: Who is the 49ers’ best cult hero entering 2022?

What’s in store for Taybor Pepper beyond 2022?

As hinted at in Pepper’s previous tweet, he’s a free agent in 2023 and will enter the final season of his two-year, $2.08 million contract signed ahead of the 2021 campaign.

Perhaps San Francisco will have to pay Pepper to leave the building as he joked earlier.

Again, long-snappers don’t receive much credit, and boatloads of money aren’t exactly thrown at them. Yet when things go bad here, they get bad in a hurry, so it wouldn’t be shocking whatsoever if the 49ers readily admit they’ve got a rad one in Pepper and ultimately elect to retain him heading into 2023.

Provided he stays unnoticed on the field over the course of the upcoming season.

Being noticed off the field is just fine, though.