1. DT Solomon Thomas
Everyone wants to see how he'll turn out with guys like Bucker, Bosa, and Ford eating up double teams on the inside and outside. He is an undeniably superior athlete to Arik Armstead, and if he can't beat him out to get substantial playing time in the nickel D, it would be a colossal disappointment. With another year of development under his belt, a move inside, and that massive upgrade of talent around him allowing more one-on-one match-ups, there is absolutely no excuse for Thomas to underperform in 2019.
2. NT D.J. Jones
Proved rather quickly that he was much better than Earl Mitchell. It's not loud yet, but there was some buzz last year about this kid. He looked really promising and with that stellar play, has earned his chance to show what he can do as a full-time starter. We'll see how it goes.
3. FS Adrian Colbert
An elite single-high safety is critical for this defensive scheme. Colbert looked like he was headed in that direction in 2017 but plummeted down to earth in 2018, constantly being out of position and far too frequently failing to execute the very basic "deeper than the deepest" concept. Jimmie Ward has no business starting, but if Colbert can't reclaim his 2017 form and Ward is healthy, that's likely what we'll be stuck with. Let's hope he's learned from his mistakes last year.
4. CB Ahkello Witherspoon
Witherspoon is a player many fans have given up on already or are very close to doing so. He took a big step back in 2018 like Colbert, and while coverage was decent sometimes, he got bullied in the run game and often took extremely costly penalties at the worst times. Most assume he will not beat out a healthy Verrett, or even the high-upside Tarvarius Moore, who arguably outplayed him in limited action. If he doesn't improve, I wouldn't be surprised to see him dangled on the trade market.
5. SLB Pita Taumoepenu
He's managed to stick around and enter a 3rd year here. Do they see him finally earning a spot at SAM? Could this be the reason we did not draft one? Perhaps he's taking the Mark Nzeocha route where he develops in the background for a while before finally getting PT and doing something. Gotta be a reason he's still here, right?
6. CB Tarvarius Moore
While he played admirably, he looked like a player playing out of position (shocker). We saw the rawness, but we also saw some playmaking ability and a strong "game sense" or football IQ, if you will. I still believe he might be the best single high FS we have on the roster, but time will tell if the coaching staff will ever give him a chance to show whether or not he can be that guy in that position.
7. MLB Fred Warner
Warner had a rock solid 2018. He was strong in coverage and good against the run, generally proving to be one of the more secure tacklers on the team. On the downside, he didn't offer much in terms of pass rush and outside of the brilliant forced fumble in game 1, just wasn't a part of many flashy plays. Communication issues plagued the team for much of the year and many believe it had to do with Warner, a rookie, handling the radio calls. Will this be remedied now that he's been here a year? Overall, he simply did his job in 2018. How much can he build on that and can he become a more dynamic player going forward? Will the improvements on the DL lead to more opportunities for sacks and interceptions? Time will tell.
8. SS Marcell Harris
Harris is a kid who, in my opinion, flashed starter qualities when he got the chance for extended playing time. In limited action, he flashed instincts, hitting ability, and a playmaking sense that I thought the defense really lacked last year. His negative plays can heavily be attributed to a simple lack of experience. If Tartt gets hurt again, I would not be shocked to see Harris find a way to cement himself as the starter for 2020 and beyond.
9. WLB Elijah Lee
While his athleticism flashed, so did a horrendous lack of discipline and poor tackling. While fairly decent in coverage when he played the play right, Lee frequently blew assignments and allowed himself to get caught out of position or lose track of his responsibilities on plays. Can he beat out Malcolm Smith and/or newcomer Dre Greenlaw? Between Lee and Greenlaw, it may very well come down to who is the better special teams player.
10. CB D.J. Reed
Reed showcased nice kick return ability, but the fumbles were absolutely killer. He couldn't hang on to the dang ball and was stripped (no pun intended) of those responsibilities because of that. Like Moore, he looked like he was playing out of position (shocker), and that's because he was. One of the most headscratching decisions of 2018 was asking to play safety -- a position he's never played -- and he looked absolutely horrible back there. Short, limited range, and no safety experience are everything you DON'T WANT when you're looking for a guy to play single high FS. Lo and behold, when he got to play nickel CB after Williams got hurt, he played fairly well. If the team will just stop stunting his and others' growth and play them in their natural positions, that would go a long way in helping develop the guys we've invested resources in, and do a lot more to shore up depth in our areas of need. It seems at least going into 2019, the team realizes this, and it appears he will be focusing on playing corner this year.
[ Edited by OnTheClock on May 9, 2019 at 9:58 AM ]