San Francisco 49ers Offensive Skill Depth Chart Preview
To say it’s been an offseason of transition for the San Francisco 49ers would be a vast understatement. Starting with the departure of Jim Harbaugh as the team’s head coach (now at Michigan), the 49ers made wholesale changes up and down their roster, which now looks nothing like the one that took them to the Super Bowl in 2012 against the Baltimore Ravens.
Some of that was the 49ers’ doing, but some of it has been decision-making on the part of their players themselves. Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, Chris Borland, and Anthony Davis all decided this offseason that it was time to retire, perhaps prematurely depending what your thoughts are on the situation.
This post won’t highlight what the departure of those guys means to the 49ers, but despite all of the players who have left, this roster has taken an interesting shape and I want to dive in to the offensive skill positions.
Quarterback
This job is obviously Colin Kaepernick’s, one of the highest paid signal callers in the league. With only Blaine Gabbert and Dylan Thompson behind him on the depth chart, he’s not even in danger of any real competition. The 49ers don’t want to see much of Gabbert on the field at all, so everything hinges at this position on number seven.
Nov 9, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Anquan Boldin (81) celebrates with quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) after scoring a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints during the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Since taking over the starting job from Alex Smith in the 49ers’ great 2012 season, Kaepernick has seen a steady decline. He has thrown more interceptions and dropped his QB rating each of the last two years, and his completion percentage is hovering around 60. He has also decreased significantly his rushing touchdowns.
I don’t know if it’s that the rest of the league has ‘figured it out’ when it comes to defending Kaepernick, but it certainly doesn’t appear as tough as it used to.
Running Back
For the first time in a long time, when you look in the 49ers’ backfield you won’t see ‘Gore’ on the back of anyone’s jersey. Frank Gore left for Indianapolis, another departure in the mass exodus, but the Niners have been ready for that for awhile, stockpiling backs and adding a big name free agent in Reggie Bush, the former Detroit Lion.
Jun 11, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Reggie Bush (23) carries the ball during minicamp at Levi
Bush could wind up playing a secondary role for this 49ers’ offense, but he’s one of the best receiving options at running back in the NFL, and will ultimately be on the field quite a lot I imagine. He will pair nicely with the ‘thunder’ that is Carlos Hyde, who showed last season some of the potential we all thought he had coming out of Ohio State.
It wasn’t all there, but Hyde looks ready for a full-time role as a featured back in the NFL.
Kendall Hunter hasn’t played since the 2013 season, and with Bush in the fold, his role could be in serious question with the team. Mike Davis, the rookie out of South Carolina, has a chance to push Hunter for the third running back spot with this team.
Wide Receiver
The 49ers’ wide receiver group at the top is the pairing that torched them in the Super Bowl a couple of years ago now with the offseason addition of free agent Torrey Smith, who gives the Niners a good deep threat option in their offense. Smith had just 49 catches last year, but 11 of them went for touchdowns, most in his career.
Jun 11, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Torrey Smith (82) during minicamp at Levi
With Torrey Smith now in the fold, the pressure should be off of Anquan Boldin’s shoulders a little bit. The ageless receiver is one of the toughest players in the league, and after not having a single season with over 1,000 yards with the Baltimore Ravens, Boldin has put together two in a row with San Francisco.
He’ll be heavily targeted again this year, but the Niners need some young players to step into bigger roles, particularly former mid-round picks Quinton Patton and Bruce Ellington.
Patton is entering his third season out of Louisiana Tech, and to this point, has shown nothing of the top flight playmaking ability we all saw when he was in college.
Ellington is entering his second year, and could carve out a slot receiver role and be very dangerous in it, but he also contributes on special teams.
Big play receiver DeAndre Smelter, a 6-2, 226 pound youngster out of Georgia Tech, was brought in with a fourth round pick to develop.
Tight End
Vernon Davis upset a lot of fantasy football players last year with his poor statistical performance, but he’s still got some time left to get back on their good graces. The first round pick in 2006 will be back in 2015, hopefully fully healthy, and ready to give the 49ers much closer to the version of himself we all saw and loved in 2013, when he was nearly unstoppable.
His 26 catches were the least he’s had in his NFL career since his 20-catch rookie season.
Oct 19, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis (85) during the game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Backing up and spelling Davis will be Vance McDonald and rookie Blake Bell, though McDonald should see the primary bulk of snaps there. He caught just two passes last year, however, and lost a fumble.
Bell is a former quarterback with phenomenal size for the position who showed some nice receiving skills last season at Oklahoma. He’ll be an intriguing developmental prospect, as will Rory Anderson, a fellow rookie out of South Carolina.
Anderson looked dominant at times when healthy as a member of the Gamecocks, but he had trouble staying that way.