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The San Francisco 49ers will look to leave an injury-plagued 2020 season behind them and turn their attention to getting back on track this offseason. In some ways, the team is fortunate. The roster is extremely talented. As long as the 49ers players rehabilitate and recover from the ailments they suffered last year, they can quickly bounce back and return to the playoffs this season.
They may not feel the need to shake up the team to improve, and will likely look to add periphery players who supplement what they already do. Aggressive general managers might call the San Francisco 49ers to try and obtain some of their assets. But there are a few players that the team won’t part in any transaction.
As San Francisco looks to begin their march back to respectability, who will almost certainly be a part of the roster in 2021?
#1 Jeff Wilson
There are specialty positions that come to mind when thinking of certain head coaches. With Jon Gruden, you think of quarterbacks. With Bill Belichick, you think of linebackers and edge defenders. With Kyle Shanahan, running backs are the first thought that pops into your head.
While Shanahan has certainly coached some talented players in the backfield, he’s shown that he doesn’t always need blue-chip prospects to take the handoff to be successful. Jeff Wilson is certainly proof of that.
The former North Texas player was not drafted by any NFL team coming out of college. He has spent all three seasons in the league with the 49ers after signing with the team as an undrafted free agent. Every season, he seems to get a little better, and show that he’s worthy of getting additional workload.
In limited action, Wilson scored seven rushing touchdowns in 2020—which was more than what Miles Sanders, Ezekiel Elliott, and Christian McCaffery managed last year. At a manageable $2 million salary in 2021, it would take a lot for San Francisco to give up on an affordable and talented player.
#2 Deebo Samuel
Speaking of young and affordable, wide receiver Deebo Samuel certainly fits that mould. In his rookie campaign in 2019, Samuel completely changed the dynamic of what the 49ers could do on offense.
His numbers didn’t jump off the page, but he proved to be a force that defenses had to plan for. Samuel wasn’t just lining up outside in traditional sets—he was routinely put in motion and had handoffs faked to him to keep the defense honest.
Unfortunately for the 49ers and Samuel, 2020 was not as kind. The talented playmaker coud only appear in seven regular-season games in 2020 but did not have the same yards after catch efficiency he did the year before. Still, he is a tremendous asset on offense, and San Francisco will not look to give him up.
#3 George Kittle
It’s a bit of a copout to call out arguably the best tight end in football as an untouchable trade piece, but Kittle has to be mentioned prominently in the 49ers' plans. There isn’t anything he doesn’t do well on a football field, and still has one more year before his new extension kicks in, making him supremely valuable.
Even though it seems like Kittle has been in the league for a long time, he’s only 27. Kittle only played in half of San Francisco’s games last year, which can be deemed an anomaly since he has not been an injury-prone player during the first three seasons of his career.
#4 Nick Bosa
Perhaps the most difficult injury the 49ers had to overcome in 2020 was the loss of ascending superstar, defensive end Nick Bosa. He was basically unguardable during his rookie season in 2019, where he was a huge part of San Francisco’s disruptive defensive front that led them to the Super Bowl. He recorded nine sacks that year but hit the quarterback 25 times.
Bosa was only able to play in two games last season due to a torn ACL he suffered in a game against the New York Jets. It’s not an easy setback to come back from, but the good news for him and the team is that it happened very early on in 2020, so he has a great chance to be back on the field for Week 1 of the 2021 season.
#5 Fred Warner
Fred Warner had a tremendous season for the 49ers in 2020. He made his first All-Pro team in just his third NFL season. He might be the least heralded great player in the league right now.
Warner’s best asset is his supreme agility and effectiveness at getting to the ball. His tackle numbers through his first three seasons have been exemplary, and he has yet to miss a game in his career. Take a look at the below-linked analysis from CBS commentator and former NFL QB Tony Romo. He raves about Warner’s instincts and insinuates that his impact goes far beyond his statistics.
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