SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Good teams don’t always — or can’t always — do a good job of developing young talent.
They either trade away their top draft picks in pursuit of veterans who are a more immediate asset for a Super Bowl run or they can’t find a way to get their youngsters on the field. Sometimes it’s both. Good teams run the risk of getting long in the tooth and failing to regenerate.
ESPN recently examined age as it relates to snap count this season and found that, in terms of the players who get the most playing time, the San Francisco 49ers are the league’s third-oldest team.
Still, some of the 49ers’ youngsters have been able to expand their roles in the second half of the season, especially over the last month as injuries have taken their toll on the roster.
How do the 49ers look for the future? Which young players have stood out? The following is a 1-10 ranking of players in their first or second seasons along with a look at how they might fit into next year’s roster.
The 2023 seventh-round pick has gotten some garbage-time snaps on offense, but he mostly has been a special teamer in the few games for which he’s been active. That’s OK. That’s largely been Charlie Woerner’s and Ross Dwelley’s role in recent seasons, too. Both veteran tight ends are set to become unrestricted free agents in March and Willis is expected to take on a more prominent spot next season. His skill set probably matches Dwelley’s H-back-like role more than Woerner’s.
He’s received far more playing time this season than fellow rookie linebacker Jalen Graham because he is faster and thus more of an asset on special teams. The 49ers might be looking for one of them to become their No. 3 linebacker next season considering the players currently in the Nos. 3 and 4 spots, Oren Burks and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, will be unrestricted free agents in March. Graham picked up the defense more quickly than Winters in the offseason and may have been the better linebacker in training camp. Winters’ speed, however, is special. And he reminds some coaches of Dre Greenlaw.
Davis’ short tenure with the 49ers has been marked by injuries. He essentially redshirted his 2022 rookie season while recovering from a college ACL injury. He missed chunks of training camp with a hamstring issue. Now he’s on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain suffered in the first half of Sunday’s game. Could the 49ers adequately evaluate him in the 2 1/2 games he played? Javon Kinlaw and Kevin Givens are scheduled to be unrestricted free agents and team officials likely will have to add at least one more defensive tackle in the offseason depending on how they feel about Davis. His strengths — quickness and penetration — resemble Givens’.
Luter hyperextended his knee in the summer, missed training camp and then spent half the season on the physically unable to perform list. In that scenario, it would have been understandable if the team had kept him on PUP for the full season and used his roster spot for someone with more experience. After all, he’s not a high pick from a marquee program. He’s a fifth-rounder who played at South Alabama. The 49ers, however, activated Luter on Nov. 18 and he immediately made a splash when he ran down a Seattle Seahawks kick returner from behind, saving a touchdown. The 49ers like the idea of having Charvarius Ward at outside cornerback and Deommodore Lenoir at nickel cornerback for the near future. Despite his delayed start, they see Luter in the mix at the other outside spot.
Although Burford has been a full participant in this week’s practices, it appears Jon Feliciano will play right guard against the Baltimore Ravens, which means Burford has lost his starting job to the veteran. Feliciano has been strong in the last two games while Burford has been up and down. It’s important to remember, however, that Burford is the third-youngest player on the 53-man roster. Only rookies Winter and Graham are younger. Asked about Burford on Friday, offensive line coach Chris Foerster said the second-year player’s challenge — as it is with all young linemen — is to find consistency.
“Sometimes in the spur of the moment in a game, something is not quite right,” Foerster said. “And maybe you’re a little bit off with your technique and all of a sudden your plays aren’t what they need to be. … And that’s what’s hard for an offensive linemen. It’s a grind day in and day out, week in and week out especially when you start to establish maybe some things that (defenses) see about you and they try to take advantage of.”
Remember all the early-season criticism the 49ers took for taking a kicker in the third round? It’s gone silent. That’s because Moody, who was wobbly from August through October, has found his footing in the second half of the season. Early on, even the kicks he made didn’t inspire confidence. Now they’re down the middle and his kickoffs — he had eight touchbacks in Arizona last week — suggest a kicker who can put the ball wherever he wants it. His counterpart on Monday will be six-time Pro Bowler Justin Tucker, with whom Moody received some comparisons immediately after the draft, including from his special teams coach at Michigan.
No, his punt returns haven’t inspired confidence. And Bell’s rookie status — and No. 10 jersey number — have some fans recalling Kyle Williams and his 2011 postseason blunder(s). But the mere fact that Bell has gotten on the field this season is a triumph. Kyle Shanahan is more demanding of his receivers than any other position save quarterback, and rookie wideouts rarely see as much playing time as Bell. He even spelled Brandon Aiyuk on the team’s opening drive Sunday. Bell doesn’t have Deebo Samuel’s strength, Aiyuk’s smoothness or Jauan Jennings’ size. But he has similar grit, and he showed in the preseason that he can break tackles the way his teammates can. In a lot of ways, Bell is reminiscent of longtime 49ers scourge Doug Baldwin. He doesn’t have any striking physical gifts. Instead he excels in smarts, desire and toughness. He will have an expanded role against the Ravens with Jennings out with a concussion.
49ers are a bit understaffed at WR with Jauan Jennings still in the concussion program. Ronnie Bell, Chris Conley on call. pic.twitter.com/yikB3dA1kp
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) December 22, 2023
Speaking of former Seahawks, did anyone else get Marshawn Lynch vibes when Mason entered last week’s game in the fourth quarter? The No. 24 jersey, the dreadlocks spilling from beneath the helmet, the violent way he plowed over a Arizona Cardinals defender? Mason has endeared himself to 49ers fans for the way he attacks the defense. He held off the more highly drafted Tyrion Davis-Price for the second straight season and will served as the team’s No. 2 rusher in the last two games. Given Elijah Mitchell’s inability to stay healthy, you have to wonder whether Jordan will be in the No. 2 role to open the 2024 season as well.
He certainly hasn’t been flawless since taking over for injured Talanoa Hufanga in Week 11. The defense has allowed a higher rate of explosive plays since he’s taken over and Brown has been to blame for several. None, however, has proven disastrous and Brown is nearly always in the right spot, the No. 1 prerequisite for an NFL safety. He’s fast, aggressive and smart. And he’s been an easy fit on the 49ers’ veteran-laden defense. Tashaun Gipson Sr. will be a free agent in March while Hufanga will miss a big chunk of the offseason as he recovers from his torn ACL. Which means it will not be a surprise if Brown remains in a starting role when the 2024 season begins.
Admit it. You’d forgotten Purdy is still in his second year, didn’t you? That’s understandable. Purdy both plays and conducts himself like a gray-bearded veteran, not someone with a baby-smooth face and backward ball cap who will celebrate his 24th birthday on Wednesday. And therein lies the magic of Purdy: He’s a youngster on an ultra-affordable rookie contract who had none of the growing pains associated with a young quarterback.
GO DEEPER
Could 49ers' Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey split the MVP? Analyzing their cases
(Top photo of Ji’Ayir Brown: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
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