Depth Chart by the end of this season?

[NJniners]

By the end of the season, what do you guys think the Depth Chart/Starters will look like at D-Line, Corners, and Receivers?

The rest of the positions are pretty clear to me. I see McGlinchey taking over at RT inmediately, Warner taking over for Foster until he comes back, and then taking Coyles spot next to Foster and Smith. Jimmy G and McKinnon are clear cut starters. Tartt and Colbert should be starters too as long as they can stay healthy. But the rest is not clear. 

At CB: To start the season, its clear that its gonna be Witherspoon and Sherman, with Ward in the slot. Ward has a rough time staying healthy though, and im a big fan of DJ Reed and McFadden. Moore also shouldnt be overlooked though.

At WR: Garcon-Goodwin-Taylor to start season. Pettis and James are great though. James reminds me of Odell Beckham a lot. 

At DL are so many possibilities not even gonna try on that one.

So who will be starters by the end of the season?

 

 

[Justone2]

I don't think Coyle will be playing SAM. SAM is basically an OLB in a 3-4 scheme who sets the edge at base downs and rushes the passer at passing downs. Could see Harold being the guy again on base downs with Attaochu and Marsh coming in to rush.

 

At CB i think it will be WItherspoon and Sherman at he outside with Williams and Ward on the inside. WIth injuries at the start Ward will move outside and it will depend on the development of Tarvarius Moore if that will change. Reed will probably battle with Ward and Williams for a job as Nickle/Dime corner.

 

At WR it will be just like every Shanahan offense where they will use all receivers on the roster. Goodwin and Garcon will probably be the first two on the depth chart and get most snaps but the rest will at least get playing time. Probably will carry six receivers with Bourne in there too.

 

At DL on base downs it will be Armstead-Buckner-Mitchell-Thomas where on passing downs Thomas or Armstead will slide inside and Attaochu and Marsh will come in as rotational pass rushers. As back-ups we have Jones, Day, Taylor and Blair who will fight to be on the roster and the active roster.

[y2lamanaki]

Don't know about the end of the season (way too many variables to predict), but this is how I imagine our Week 1 depth chart might look: 
 

QB: 

Jimmy Garoppolo
CJ Beathard

Don't think there's too much to discuss here. No draft pick means it's just an undrafted guy competing with Mullens for the practice squad spot. Can't see us keeping three.

HB: 

Jerick McKinnon
Matt Breida
Joe Williams
Raheem Mostert (ST)

Maybe we see something in McNichols or Wilson from North Texas, but I think I'd be surprised.

FB: 

Kyle Juszczyk

Nothing to see here.

WR: 

Pierre Garcon
Marquise Goodwin
Dante Pettis
Trent Taylor
Kendrick Bourne
Richie James

I gave the last spot to James over Robinson. I feel like Robinson showed very little last year, so I'm more excited to keep James around. The top 4 I think will rotate quite a bit. Even in only 2 WR sets, there are some intriguing combos with Pettis. 3 WR sets could be any combination of the three. Hard to see where redzone points are going to come from, but moving the ball should be no problem for this team. Another name to watch is Burbridge. It sounds stupid given this class, but he was the Special Teams captain going into the preseason last year and his contributions there were very highly valued. My guess is Burbridge vs. Mostert is a hidden camp battle. I went with Mostert.

TE: 

George Kittle 
Garrett Celek

If we only keep 2, then it should be a no-brainer. It's amazing how long Celek has stuck around all things considering. I think it's pretty weird we didn't go after a TE anywhere in the draft as I think there were a lot of great options, and as such I'm stuck with just two TEs (plus Juszczyk). I guess Hikutini can stick around, but given how little he showed last year, it would be a surprise to me. So I'm sticking with two for now. An intriguing rookie free agent signing of ours from South Dakota St. goes by the name Connor Wentz. His cousin is doing alright in the NFL. 

LT: 
Joe Staley
LG: 
Laken Tomlinson
C:
Weston Richburg
RG: 
Jonathan Cooper
RT: 
Mike McGlinchey 

This is how I feel the starting line battles play out. I think Tomlinson at LG is pretty set. I think the competition will be at RG between Cooper, Garnett, Beadles, and Magnusson. I haven't watched as much as Cooper, but I've watched enough of Garnett to not be convinced he can win a starting job.

OL-T DEPTH:

Garry Gilliam
Darrell Williams, Jr.

Would love to see Williams take those next steps this year. Had an excellent preseason/camp last year. If he improves in year two, it's feasible we can be thinking about him as the long-term second tackle. We also signed Jamar McGloster out of Syracuse. He could be a potential guy to watch in camp.

OL-C/G DEPTH: 

Zane Beadles
Erik Magnuson 

One of our failings in this draft was that I do not believe we did enough to push Zane Beadles out of a roster spot. While this means Garnett doesn't make the roster, I think I've seen enough to know that a Baalke draft pick has an uphill climb. 

STRONG SIDE DE:

Solomon Thomas
Arik Armstead
Ronald Blair III

I'm just going to come out and say that the defensive line is the grouping in which I'm most puzzled about. So, we're going to call Thomas the starter and Armstead a backup, even with the weird arrangement where Thomas is supposed to start at LEO in base downs. So we're just throwing them here. I think the team does like Blair enough to keep him around. He's also in a contract season ('also' assumes we don't pick up Armstead's 5th year option)

UT: 

DeForrest Buckner
Sheldon Day

Pretty simple here. Unless Jullian Taylor shocks everyone in minicamp to make the roster, the starter and backup are easy and both seemingly roster locks. Even the beat writers seem to indicate that he's a practice squad contender rather than a roster contender in year one.

NT: 

Earl Mitchell
DJ Jones

Again, pretty simple starter/backup rotation with nobody else I know even in the conversation.

LEO: 

Jeremiah Attaochu 
Cassius Marsh

I am going off of potential I suppose. This position will almost certainly need an upgrade next offseason unless we trade for someone or Attaochu magically reaches his potential as a late bloomer. Can't see another option. It's not Harold. And because it's not Harold, I don't see the need for Harold to make the roster. In this projection - he is a camp cut. If he's on the team, he might be the most surprising player to ever play out their rookie contract despite being good at fairly little.

SAM: 

Dekoda Watson
Pita Taumoepenu

Another position I'm shocked we made no effort to address. I think this is who saw the most playing time last year, so I'm keeping this rotation. Haven't seen enough of Taumoepenu to know if he can beat out Harold outright.

MIKE: 

Reuben Foster
Korey Toomer
Brock Coyle

I know they said we see Fred Warner as a MIKE, but I'm going to put him at WILL for now. I'm keeping 8 LBs in a 4-3, which is a really large amount. 

WILL:

Malcolm Smith
Fred Warner

I'd love to say Warner over Smith to start, but Smith got a large FA contract and played really well last camp until the injury. I think Warner would really need to earn the starting job. The flip side to this is Foster could easily be suspended to start the year, meaning Smith can start here, and Warner just needs to beat out Toomer/Coyle at the MIKE, which might be the easier path to the field at first.

CB: 

Richard Sherman
Ahkello Witherspoon
Tarvarius Moore
Greg Mabin

With all the new entries, it's really a hard group to predict after the starters (who should be set). I'd love Moore to come in and really push Witherspoon, though. An iron sharpens iron sort of deal. But, in any case, I believe we have far improved upon Dontae Johnson. 

NICKEL DB:

K'Waun Williams
Jimmie Ward
DJ Reed

Williams received the extension and Ward has not, so I'm using this as a starting point. Reed as the newcomer probably best fits here. He has a BIG personality judging by his comments upon getting drafted. I hope he has the work ethic to come out and prove it at this level. He better move his chair over next to Sherman to know how to back it up as a 5th round pick. 

FS: 

Adrian Colbert

Lynch's use of "for now" to describe Colbert as the starting safety could also mean that Ward or Tarvarius Moore might sneak into this competition if they're one of the four best DBs on the team (those two can also be backups here). One thing I like about all of the DBs we've drafted, we could feasibly see competition all through the backfield that allows us to play the best four players regardless of who they might be. 

SS: 

Jaquiski Tartt
Marcell Harris

Tartt is the obvious starter after the extension, and hopefully he builds upon the excellent job he did in 2018 before the injury. I think Harris could be ready for the season given how long ago his injury occurred, but he could also end up spending the year on IR due to the injury being his Achilles. If he's healthy, I love him as a box safety/special teams guy. He's excellent in both roles. I'm betting on a healthy recovery here. If he's not healthy, I think James makes the roster (as long as he also returns to good health).

K: 
Robbie Gould
P: 
Bradley Pinion
LS: 
Kyle Nelson

No real competition here.

[Justone2]

34 minutes ago, y2lamanaki said:

Don't know about the end of the season (way too many variables to predict), but this is how I imagine our Week 1 depth chart might look: 
 

QB: 

Jimmy Garoppolo
CJ Beathard

Don't think there's too much to discuss here. No draft pick means it's just an undrafted guy competing with Mullens for the practice squad spot. Can't see us keeping three.

HB: 

Jerick McKinnon
Matt Breida
Joe Williams
Raheem Mostert (ST)

Maybe we see something in McNichols or Wilson from North Texas, but I think I'd be surprised.

FB: 

Kyle Juszczyk

Nothing to see here.

WR: 

Pierre Garcon
Marquise Goodwin
Dante Pettis
Trent Taylor
Kendrick Bourne
Richie James

I gave the last spot to James over Robinson. I feel like Robinson showed very little last year, so I'm more excited to keep James around. The top 4 I think will rotate quite a bit. Even in only 2 WR sets, there are some intriguing combos with Pettis. 3 WR sets could be any combination of the three. Hard to see where redzone points are going to come from, but moving the ball should be no problem for this team. Another name to watch is Burbridge. It sounds stupid given this class, but he was the Special Teams captain going into the preseason last year and his contributions there were very highly valued. My guess is Burbridge vs. Mostert is a hidden camp battle. I went with Mostert.

TE: 

George Kittle 
Garrett Celek

If we only keep 2, then it should be a no-brainer. It's amazing how long Celek has stuck around all things considering. I think it's pretty weird we didn't go after a TE anywhere in the draft as I think there were a lot of great options, and as such I'm stuck with just two TEs (plus Juszczyk). I guess Hikutini can stick around, but given how little he showed last year, it would be a surprise to me. So I'm sticking with two for now. An intriguing rookie free agent signing of ours from South Dakota St. goes by the name Connor Wentz. His cousin is doing alright in the NFL. 

LT: 
Joe Staley
LG: 
Laken Tomlinson
C:
Weston Richburg
RG: 
Jonathan Cooper
RT: 
Mike McGlinchey 

This is how I feel the starting line battles play out. I think Tomlinson at LG is pretty set. I think the competition will be at RG between Cooper, Garnett, Beadles, and Magnusson. I haven't watched as much as Cooper, but I've watched enough of Garnett to not be convinced he can win a starting job.

OL-T DEPTH:

Garry Gilliam
Darrell Williams, Jr.

Would love to see Williams take those next steps this year. Had an excellent preseason/camp last year. If he improves in year two, it's feasible we can be thinking about him as the long-term second tackle. We also signed Jamar McGloster out of Syracuse. He could be a potential guy to watch in camp.

OL-C/G DEPTH: 

Zane Beadles
Erik Magnuson 

One of our failings in this draft was that I do not believe we did enough to push Zane Beadles out of a roster spot. While this means Garnett doesn't make the roster, I think I've seen enough to know that a Baalke draft pick has an uphill climb. 

STRONG SIDE DE:

Solomon Thomas
Arik Armstead
Ronald Blair III

I'm just going to come out and say that the defensive line is the grouping in which I'm most puzzled about. So, we're going to call Thomas the starter and Armstead a backup, even with the weird arrangement where Thomas is supposed to start at LEO in base downs. So we're just throwing them here. I think the team does like Blair enough to keep him around. He's also in a contract season ('also' assumes we don't pick up Armstead's 5th year option)

UT: 

DeForrest Buckner
Sheldon Day

Pretty simple here. Unless Jullian Taylor shocks everyone in minicamp to make the roster, the starter and backup are easy and both seemingly roster locks. Even the beat writers seem to indicate that he's a practice squad contender rather than a roster contender in year one.

NT: 

Earl Mitchell
DJ Jones

Again, pretty simple starter/backup rotation with nobody else I know even in the conversation.

LEO: 

Jeremiah Attaochu 
Cassius Marsh

I am going off of potential I suppose. This position will almost certainly need an upgrade next offseason unless we trade for someone or Attaochu magically reaches his potential as a late bloomer. Can't see another option. It's not Harold. And because it's not Harold, I don't see the need for Harold to make the roster. In this projection - he is a camp cut. If he's on the team, he might be the most surprising player to ever play out their rookie contract despite being good at fairly little.

SAM: 

Dekoda Watson
Pita Taumoepenu

Another position I'm shocked we made no effort to address. I think this is who saw the most playing time last year, so I'm keeping this rotation. Haven't seen enough of Taumoepenu to know if he can beat out Harold outright.

MIKE: 

Reuben Foster
Korey Toomer
Brock Coyle

I know they said we see Fred Warner as a MIKE, but I'm going to put him at WILL for now. I'm keeping 8 LBs in a 4-3, which is a really large amount. 

WILL:

Malcolm Smith
Fred Warner

I'd love to say Warner over Smith to start, but Smith got a large FA contract and played really well last camp until the injury. I think Warner would really need to earn the starting job. The flip side to this is Foster could easily be suspended to start the year, meaning Smith can start here, and Warner just needs to beat out Toomer/Coyle at the MIKE, which might be the easier path to the field at first.

CB: 

Richard Sherman
Ahkello Witherspoon
Tarvarius Moore
Greg Mabin

With all the new entries, it's really a hard group to predict after the starters (who should be set). I'd love Moore to come in and really push Witherspoon, though. An iron sharpens iron sort of deal. But, in any case, I believe we have far improved upon Dontae Johnson. 

NICKEL DB:

K'Waun Williams
Jimmie Ward
DJ Reed

Williams received the extension and Ward has not, so I'm using this as a starting point. Reed as the newcomer probably best fits here. He has a BIG personality judging by his comments upon getting drafted. I hope he has the work ethic to come out and prove it at this level. He better move his chair over next to Sherman to know how to back it up as a 5th round pick. 

FS: 

Adrian Colbert

Lynch's use of "for now" to describe Colbert as the starting safety could also mean that Ward or Tarvarius Moore might sneak into this competition if they're one of the four best DBs on the team (those two can also be backups here). One thing I like about all of the DBs we've drafted, we could feasibly see competition all through the backfield that allows us to play the best four players regardless of who they might be. 

SS: 

Jaquiski Tartt
Marcell Harris

Tartt is the obvious starter after the extension, and hopefully he builds upon the excellent job he did in 2018 before the injury. I think Harris could be ready for the season given how long ago his injury occurred, but he could also end up spending the year on IR due to the injury being his Achilles. If he's healthy, I love him as a box safety/special teams guy. He's excellent in both roles. I'm betting on a healthy recovery here. If he's not healthy, I think James makes the roster (as long as he also returns to good health).

K: 
Robbie Gould
P: 
Bradley Pinion
LS: 
Kyle Nelson

No real competition here.

Most i 100% agree with. However i really don't see a way Watson beats Harold at SAM. Not that Harold is anything special but Watson is basically just a special teams guy. 

Also don't think we will keep 5 player for Mike/Will and Beadles over Garnett is just crazy. Unless Garnett gets traded. 

[y2lamanaki]

4 minutes ago, Justone2 said:

Most i 100% agree with. However i really don't see a way Watson beats Harold at SAM. Not that Harold is anything special but Watson is basically just a special teams guy. 

Also don't think we will keep 5 player for Mike/Will and Beadles over Garnett is just crazy. Unless Garnett gets traded. 

Fair point in Watson over Harold. I more see it as  Pita over Harold. I can't imagine Harold is in the team's long-term plans, and I see the move to LEO as a "well, here's one last shot" kinda deal. When that turns out to be a mistake (which maybe I'm overconfident on his abilities at LEO or lack thereof), I think they'll look to move him. The team has proven it has no allegiance to Baalke-era pickups, and I don't see Harold getting a second contract here. So - I couldn't fit him onto the roster over Watson due to Watson being superior at Special Teams (plus is a current regime pickup), and I can see the team wanting to keep Pita because he was their draft pick and they're rumored to like him - so he stays, too. I don't think Pita will be ready to start right away, so Watson is the placeholder to open the year. Harold might have some trade value (certainly not anything more than a late pick is what I would think), so that's a possibility. Same with Garnett - I can see Garnett bringing in the same value we sent out for Tomlinson (maybe a tad lower). And while I'd love to say that we'd keep Garnett over Beadles and push Beadles off the squad, I can't see Garnett as being in our long-term plans. So - I see him out as well. 

As for five players at Mike/Will - LBs make great special teams guys. Foster might even be suspended to start. Of course, that could open a spot for a guy like Harold or Garnett, too. 

[Justone2]

3 minutes ago, y2lamanaki said:

Fair point in Watson over Harold. I more see it as  Pita over Harold. I can't imagine Harold is in the team's long-term plans, and I see the move to LEO as a "well, here's one last shot" kinda deal. When that turns out to be a mistake (which maybe I'm overconfident on his abilities at LEO or lack thereof), I think they'll look to move him. The team has proven it has no allegiance to Baalke-era pickups, and I don't see Harold getting a second contract here. So - I couldn't fit him onto the roster over Watson due to Watson being superior at Special Teams (plus is a current regime pickup), and I can see the team wanting to keep Pita because he was their draft pick and they're rumored to like him - so he stays, too. I don't think Pita will be ready to start right away, so Watson is the placeholder to open the year. Harold might have some trade value (certainly not anything more than a late pick is what I would think), so that's a possibility. Same with Garnett - I can see Garnett bringing in the same value we sent out for Tomlinson (maybe a tad lower). And while I'd love to say that we'd keep Garnett over Beadles and push Beadles off the squad, I can't see Garnett as being in our long-term plans. So - I see him out as well. 

As for five players at Mike/Will - LBs make great special teams guys. Foster might even be suspended to start. Of course, that could open a spot for a guy like Harold or Garnett, too. 

Watson over Harold argument feels a little backwards thinking. I think for starters your actual play at the position should take precedent and that is why i would go Harold over Watson since Harold can play on ST teams too. I think with the linebackers its more likely we keep a guy like James when Foster is suspended and then once he comes back depending on injury Coyle or Toomer will be let go. 

 

For Garnett i just think a lot will depend on how he shows up at training camp. Beadles isn't a guy picked up by the regime we have now and is more expensive i believe. There is no upside to letting Garnett go right now unless we get a decent pick back for him.

[y2lamanaki]

3 minutes ago, Justone2 said:

Watson over Harold argument feels a little backwards thinking. I think for starters your actual play at the position should take precedent and that is why i would go Harold over Watson since Harold can play on ST teams too. I think with the linebackers its more likely we keep a guy like James when Foster is suspended and then once he comes back depending on injury Coyle or Toomer will be let go. 

If you can get any return value for Watson, sure - that's the way you go. In this instance, I'm still assuming Harold has some value and brings something back. And you're missing the main point - I think the team values Pita more than they value Harold. So in a case where they may see Pita starting by the end of the year, there's no reason to keep Harold around unless he wins the LEO competition (which I do not see happening). The SLB is not a player that's on the field for any lengthy amount of time. Harold played all 16 games and he still had 12 people finish with more snaps than he did. Plus, he was close in snap count to Ward (played only 7 games), Armstrong (played only 10 games), and Bowman (played only 5 games). And as shown with Armstrong and Bowman - they aren't afraid to get rid of starters not in their future plans for less talented guys they think might stick around. Harold isn't on this team in 2019 (unless he wins the LEO job and somehow turns into a Pro Bowler - which is highly unlikely). So get rid of him for the guys you plan on keeping around (which would likely include Watson and Pita - this regime's guys). 

[J-ALL-DAY]

I think we still have the same base front starting that we had last year: 

Thomas Buckner Mitchell Armstead 

Maybe Jones is able to beat out Mitchell, but think this is what we will see. On passing downs when Thomas kicks inside, Marsh and Attaochu will be the ends. 

I'll do my predictions later when I get home. 

[rudyZ]

8 hours ago, y2lamanaki said:

3 WR sets could be any combination of the three.

I think 3 WR sets favors Taylor over Pettis for now. I think he should rotate with Garçon and Goodwin, for the most part, both in 2 and 3 WR sets. I think Taylor has earned play time, and we just need him to convert third downs!!

[NJniners]

Responding to my own post, i think this is what we look like at the end of the season:

QB: Garoppolo1, Beathard2

RB: McKinnon1, Williams2

FB: Juice Check

LT: Staley

LG: Garnett

C: Richburg

RG: Magnusson

RT: McGlinchey

-With Tomlinson being first off the bench and then Beadles.

 

WR1: Garcon1, Pettis2

WR2: Goodwin

Slot WR: Taylor1, James2

TE: Kittle1, Celek2

-Pettis also is the primary Returner for us.

 

DE: Taylor1, Armstead2

DT: Buckner

DT: Jones1, Mitchell2

DE: Thomas1, Attaochu2

SAM: Smith1, Coyle2

MIKE: Foster

WILL: Warner1, Harold2

CB1: Sherman1, Moore2, McFadden3

CB2: Reed1, Witherspoon2

Slot/Nickel CB: Ward1, Williams2

FS: Colbert

SS: Tartt

 

 

[Forge]

53 minutes ago, NJniners said:

Responding to my own post, i think this is what we look like at the end of the season:

QB: Garoppolo1, Beathard2

RB: McKinnon1, Williams2

FB: Juice Check

LT: Staley

LG: Garnett

C: Richburg

RG: Magnusson

RT: McGlinchey

-With Tomlinson being first off the bench and then Beadles.

 

WR1: Garcon1, Pettis2

WR2: Goodwin

Slot WR: Taylor1, James2

TE: Kittle1, Celek2

-Pettis also is the primary Returner for us.

 

DE: Taylor1, Armstead2

DT: Buckner

DT: Jones1, Mitchell2

DE: Thomas1, Attaochu2

SAM: Smith1, Coyle2

MIKE: Foster

WILL: Warner1, Harold2

CB1: Sherman1, Moore2, McFadden3

CB2: Reed1, Witherspoon2

Slot/Nickel CB: Ward1, Williams2

FS: Colbert

SS: Tartt

 

 

I am really, really confused by this 

[NinerNation21]

I've been thinking about the niners' potential depth chart since Sunday. This is what I came up with:

QB: Jimmy G / Beathard

RB: McKinnon / Breida / Williams / Mostert

FB: Juice

WR: Garcon / Goodwin / Taylor / Pettis / Bourne

TE: Kittle / Celek / Hikutini

OT: Staley / McGlinchey / Gilliam

OG: Garnett / Cooper / Tomlinson

C: Richburg / Magnuson 

 

DE: Armstead / Thomas / Blair / Marsh / Attaochu

DT: Buckner / Day / Mitchell / Jones

OLB: Smith / Warner / Harold

ILB: Foster / Coyle / Toomer / Watson

Outside CB: Sherman / Witherspoon / Moore / Mabin

Inside CB: Williams / Ward / Reed

FS: Colbert / James

SS: Tartt / Harris

 

K: Gould

P: Pinion

LS: Nelson

 

PS: Richie James WR / Nick Mullens QB / Jullian Taylor DT / Pita Taumoepenu OLB / Darrell Williams OT / Jeff Wilson RB / Terrell Williams S / Ross Dwelley TE / Trovon Reed CB / Jamar McGolster OT

IR: Kentavius Street DE