Five Non-Rookies You're Most Eager to Watch in Pre-Season | Page 2

OnTheClock · 2018-05-14T09:04:21-07:00

There's definitely a lot of talk about the newcomers we just drafted, but there's a lot of young talent from last year's class that I'm excited to see the progression of too. With that said, I'm curious who you other 'Zoners are eager to get a look at. My top five would be the following: 1. C.J. Beathard, QB Many people dog on Beathard as harsh as they would on a player who was taken in the 1st round or just signed big bucks. This is over-the-top and unfair to Beathard (a mid rounder), but furthermore it is incredibly premature to start labeling the guy as a career backup after what was statistically a rock solid rookie debut. It wasn't a large sample size, but over his first six games, he totaled 1430 passing yards and 136 rushing yards with 7 touchdowns (4 passing, 3 rushing) and 6 INTs. Compare that with the first six games of several other current NFL starters: Joe Flacco (1076 yards, 2 TD, 7 INT) / Eli Manning (833 yards, 3 TDs, 8 INT) / Alex Smith (682 yards, 0 TD, 10 INT) / Matthew Stafford (1265 yards, 5 TDs, 12 INT, 2 rush TDs) / Matt Ryan (1164 yards, 5 TD, 3 INT) / Jared Goff (969 yards, 5 TD, 7 INT, 1 rush TD). You get the point by now... and hopefully you can see why I'm really looking forward to see what kind of jump he can make in year two. Beathard showed almost unheard of toughness out there and made some brilliant throws at times under duress. I see now what Shanahan saw in him, especially in terms of fearlessness, and can't wait to see where he's at in year two. 2. Joe Williams, RB Frankly, we've barely gotten to see what he can do at all. He was stashed away on IR all of last year, but in terms of ability as a runner, by all means he seems to have RB1 kinds of tools. In brief action in last year's pre-season, you caught a small glimpse of this. I'm sure the staff hopes as much as the next guy that he can use this off-season to sharpen his game and earn a roster spot, but after no playing time last year, he's got an uphill battle. For the first time in years, the team didn't draft a running back. Perhaps this points to them still having faith in JW. Hopefully he can reward us all with a stellar showing so he can secure a place along side the other RBs on the final roster. 3. Pita Taumoepenu, OLB Pita has spent the last year stashed on the roster with limited PT (just two games all of last season), but you have to believe there's a good reason they elected to not take a chance trying to put him on the practice squad. Scrappy, relentless, and highly athletic, Pita on paper seems like the perfect developmental SAM prospect. While it might be overly optimistic to expect him to overtake Harold for the SAM position, at worst his development should push Harold even further to step up his game (remember he's in a contract year this year). As much as Harold has been statistically disappointing, he hasn't been a "bad" player, he just hasn't been an "impact guy". Harold (remember 2017 was his first season as a 4-3 player) and Pita will both have continuity behind them going into 2018, so either way I'm looking for improvement, specifically in pass rush, at the SAM position. 4. Joshua Garnett, OG I've been a vocal skeptic about Garnett since evaluating him as a college prospect, but will continue to root for him to prove me wrong. Now entering his third year, body reshaped, I'm hopeful he's had enough time to correct the flaws he had when he entered the league. I honestly don't trust any of the guys we have at OG outside of Person (experienced C/G who provides solid insurance) and Magnuson (who I think showed a lot of promise last year). Garnett's smarts and passion make him a guy with a lot of upside still. Perhaps he'll be a late bloomer. I hope he is, because we really need someone who can help shore up the interior for years to come. 5. Erik Magnuson, C/G As previously stated, Magnuson was a guy who really flashed some starter potential last year to me. Just a gutsy, gritty competitor who came in and surprised a lot of people doing so well as a UDFA last pre-season and clearly earned himself a roster spot. Played well out of position at RT due to necessity, but he seems to be a roster lock this year as a younger Zane Beadles type of player (hopefully much better though). Personally, I think if he continues to trend upward, we could see him growing into the RG of the future and putting up a heavy fight against Cooper/Garnett for that spot. Hopefully that foot injury is 100% healed with no lingering after-effects.

May 14, 2018 at 12:16 PM

#16

HERN
Veteran
Posts: 5,446

!. Richard Sherman. Is he going to be anything close to what he once was?

2.Jimmy Ward. Can he stay healthy? What position will he play?

3.Jimmy G. Now that the tape is out there how will he perform.

4.K. Bourne. He really stood out to me late in the year. Will he make a push for a spot/starting role or will he be stashed in that heavy WR corp?

5.Armstead. Is this the year? Or should i just throw away my jersey

May 14, 2018 at 12:45 PM

#17

49erphan
Veteran
Posts: 1,710

Garcon (wondering how well he does with Jimmy G.)
M. Smith (recovered from injury? how well will he play with these particular players around him)
Marsh (was Lynch right?)
S. Thomas (will a complete preseason and year of experience be enough for him to show the potential so many people thinks he had/has)
J. Williams (is he ready to rock and roll?)

[ Edited by 49erphan on May 14, 2018 at 1:07 PM ]

May 14, 2018 at 1:31 PM

#18

lamontb
Veteran
Posts: 33,355

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
Who needs top 5 when you could look at every position? lol. If I expanded it to one non-rookie guy at each position group, I'd go with the following:

QB - Beathard
RB - Williams
TE - Hikutini
WR - Bourne
OT - Darrell Williams
OG - Garnett
C - Magnuson
DL - Armstead
MLB - Toomer
OLB - Taumoepenu
CB - Sherman
S - Chanceller James

LOL...sorry, went a little crazy there.

For PRE-SEASON & NON-ROOKIES, I'd go with:

DL - Armstead
MLB - Toomer & M.Smith
OLB - Taumoepenu
CB - Sherman

Even if fully healthy I don't think he'll play much in the pre season

May 14, 2018 at 2:09 PM

#19

NinerBuff
The Election Dude
Posts: 21,443

Solomon Thomas: I really hope we see big strides from him this year. If he can be as good as advertised (when we drafted him), he could be a special player and really free up the other guys around him.
Malcolm Smith: We need someone to step up and show leadership in the middle of the defense, I hope we get to see some ROI from Smith (a year late)
Joshua Garnett: Someone will win the starting spots at G, and I hope he really steps up during camp.
George Kittle: I really liked his performance as a rookie and hope that a full offseason will really push him to a new level.
Pita Taumoepenu: He's the wild card that could be an answer to our lackluster pass rush.

May 14, 2018 at 4:45 PM

#20

MTninerfan
Veteran
Posts: 449

1) Attaochu- Need an outside rush. Hope he hits another level.
2) Thomas- Hope things really click for him this year so him and Buck and anchor a strong d-line
3) Malcolm Smith/Reuban Foster- I really hope Foster gets his s**t together off the field and hope the little "dings" he got almost every game are a thing of the past. I think he could be really special and I'd like to see if him and Warner can become an unstoppable duo. If he continues to have issues, might as well see what a healthy smith can bring to the defense.
4) Bourne- The stable of receivers seems packed all of the sudden with a lot of talent. I thought this guy showed out really well last year and was going to make a push for more playing time this year. Still want to see if he can do it with Garcon healthy and the new rookies in the fold.
5) Witherspoon- I hope Sherman can him become a lockdown guy. If he solidifies one side, hopefully our secondary can be solid as we transition from Sherman to whoever the next man up will be.

Bonus:
Colbert- Can he prove that last year wasn't an anomaly? We could use a great safety to pair with Tartt for years to come!!

Bonus FA's:
McKinnon- Hope he takes Shanny's O to another level
Richburg- See McKinnon

Bonus Franchise QB:
Garoppolo- I really hope he just is what we all think he is!!

May 14, 2018 at 6:56 PM

#21

socalniner
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Posts: 19,420

Shanahan's offense. He's got his guys, let's see what they can do!

May 14, 2018 at 8:53 PM

#22

808niner4lyphe
Veteran
Posts: 7,611

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
Who needs top 5 when you could look at every position? lol. If I expanded it to one non-rookie guy at each position group, I'd go with the following:

QB - Beathard
RB - Williams
TE - Hikutini
WR - Bourne
OT - Darrell Williams
OG - Garnett
C - Magnuson
DL - Armstead
MLB - Toomer
OLB - Taumoepenu
CB - Sherman
S - Chanceller James

This list plus Colbert, I wanna see how much more he improved from last year now the game is a little slower for him with quality playing time last season. If he's "THE ONE" back there.

May 14, 2018 at 9:14 PM

#23

pasodoc9er
Veteran
Posts: 21,040

Originally posted by thl408:
If we are allowed to name players outside of last year's draft class, then I'll go with:
1. Thomas - please do something really good on the pass rush.
2. Attachou - please do something really good on the pass rush.
3. Colbert - keep making plays
4. Jet - do something to justify the high salary
5. Richberg - how much can a legit Center improve this offense?

Re: #5, answer is iif he is truly worth his salary, then a lot. I just hope he lives up to expectations.

May 14, 2018 at 9:17 PM

#24

LVJay
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Posts: 27,847

Garnett. Attachou. Toomer. Blair. Joe Williams.

May 14, 2018 at 9:52 PM

#25

mayo49
Veteran
Posts: 65,216

Attaochu
Garnett
Williams
Armstead
Goodwin
Garcon

[ Edited by mayo49 on May 15, 2018 at 1:27 AM ]

May 15, 2018 at 1:08 AM

#26

49erBigMac
Veteran
Posts: 8,058

Originally posted by socalniner:
Shanahan's offense. He's got his guys, let's see what they can do!

I doubt we'll see that in the pre-season, it will be probably be extremely watered down.

I'd bet good money on it rolling in the season and beyond though.

May 15, 2018 at 1:23 AM

#27

Giedi
Veteran
Posts: 34,825

Originally posted by dj43:
Nice piece, OTC.

I too am particularly intrigued with Beathard. I see him following the same pattern as Garappolo in New England when he was sitting behind Brady and learning the fine points of the game. In this very competitive league, if you QB1 goes down, and you don't have a competent QB2, you can kiss off your season. Beathard showed last season that he had enough of the basics to win if the rest of the pieces began to fall into place. He is at least a future major trade piece a la Jimmy G.

A guy you didn't mention but one I am going to be watching is Arik Armstead. I want to see him have a good run while healthy and see what he can do. When healthy, he has flashed at times but with different systems and injuries, he has never really had a serious go at it.

Agree with both of you, and I'll just add to your points, Jerry Attaochu. I hope Jerry stays healthy and flashes his talent throughout the entire season, but specially pre-season. If he does, that will go a long way to helping me not take antacid pills before games.

May 15, 2018 at 3:24 AM

#28

GorefullBore
Veteran
Posts: 4,452

1.McKinnon - I want to how dynamic he can
be in this system. I'm hoping for a
Devonta Freeman type of production.

2.Colbert - I'd like to see him and Spoon
become even bigger impact players on
defense.

3.Garnett- It will be really fascinating
to see if he can transition to Kyle's O,
especially after cutting weight. If he
can that can make up for not addressing
the p position in the draft.

4.Attaochu - I'm hoping he can juice-up
the pass rush.

5.Bourne - Ideally he continues to
progress and shows the potential to
develop into our future number one after
Pierre steps aside. Is it a long shot?
Maybe, but with further growth and
development who knows?

May 15, 2018 at 6:06 AM

#29

Chief
Veteran
Posts: 28,272

Sherman
McKinnon
Goodwin
Buckner
S. Thomas

May 15, 2018 at 6:30 AM

#30

valrod33
Hall of Small
Posts: 138,122

Armstead, Jimmie Ward and Malcolm Smith