Envisioning San Francisco 49ers' Starting Lineup for 2015 Season
The San Francisco 49ers’ starting lineup just came into focus.
Before the draft, it was impossible to guess what the starting lineup would look like in 2015. Would the Niners draft a starting inside linebacker, or a starting cornerback, or maybe even a starting running back?
The answer to all three questions was, “No.”
The Niners didn’t draft any immediate starters. They drafted players who must compete for starting jobs. One or two rookies might win a job in training camp. But next season, most of them probably will ride the bench except on special teams.
With that in mind, here is the 49ers’ projected starting lineup for 2015.
Quarterback
1 of 10
QB: Colin Kaepernick
Analysis: The 49ers seem committed to Kaepernick.
They didn’t take a single quarterback in the draft. They could have drafted quarterback Brett Hundley from UCLA at the end of Round 4, but instead they drafted a wide receiver with a torn ACL—DeAndre Smelter from Georgia Tech. The Packers ended up taking Hundley with the 11th pick in Round 5.
The Niners signed an undrafted free-agent quarterback—Dylan Thompson from South Carolina. And he will compete with Blaine Gabbert to be the backup.
But neither Gabbert nor Thompson can compete with Kaepernick to be the starter. The Niners don’t have a young, talented quarterback like Hundley to push Kaepernick and possibly replace him in a season or two if he continues to regress.
Which means Kaepernick will be the Niners quarterback for the foreseeable future.
Wide Receiver
2 of 10
X: Torrey Smith
Z: Anquan Boldin
Analysis: Boldin is the “Z,” or the “flanker”—Jerry Rice’s old position. Boldin knows how to get open against zone coverage, and he makes contested catches. He is the 49ers’ go-to receiver on third down and in the red zone.
Smith is the “X,” or the “split end”—John Taylor’s old position. Smith is the speed receiver, the deep threat who forces the opposing safeties to play farther away from the line of scrimmage than normal.
Smith and Boldin complement each other perfectly, but they may not complement each other for long. Next season might be their only season together on the Niners. Boldin will be a 35-year-old free agent in 2016, and if the 49ers don’t re-sign him, Quinton Patton will be first in line to replace him at “Z.”
Tight End
3 of 10
TE: Vernon Davis
H-BACK: Blake Bell
Analysis: Even though Vernon Davis had his worst season as a pro in 2014, he still is the 49ers’ No. 1 tight end.
For now.
He will be a free agent in 2016, and the Niners may have just drafted his long-term replacement.
They recently took former Oklahoma tight end Blake Bell in Round 4. Bell played quarterback until his senior season, so he’s still learning the nuances of playing tight end.
But he’s 6’6”, he moves well for his size, and he seems to have good hands. He has the talent to replace Davis at tight end in 2016 and to beat out Vance McDonald for the H-back job in 2015.
McDonald has bad hands. During his two-season career, he has 10 catches, four drops and one fumble. He was a second-round pick in 2013, but he might not make the final roster.
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Running Back
4 of 10
RB: Carlos Hyde
FB: Bruce Miller
Analysis: Hyde and Miller have the potential to become the best running back-full back tandem in the NFL.
Miller already is the best fullback, even though he hasn't made a Pro Bowl. Which is absurd. He should be a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro every season. He’s a great blocker, a good receiver, he plays more than any other fullback in the league and he is the foundation of the 49ers’ power-running offense.
And Hyde is the centerpiece, the featured running back. He’s replacing Frank Gore, who signed with the Indianapolis Colts this offseason.
Hyde is 23. When Gore was 23 in 2006, he carried the ball 312 times. Hyde could surpass that number. He's young, fresh and tough, and he's the 49ers’ best running back in every situation. He should play most snaps.
He might lead the league in rushing if the offensive line plays well. The success of the Niners’ running game will depend on them next season.
Offensive Line
5 of 10
LT: Joe Staley
LG: Brandon Thomas
C: Daniel Kilgore
RG: Alex Boone
RT: Anthony Davis
Analysis: Four-fifths of the offensive line is the same as last season. The new face is the left guard, Brandon Thomas. He replaces Mike Iupati, who signed with the Arizona Cardinals this offseason.
The Niners drafted Thomas in the third round last year. He spent his rookie season on injured reserve rehabbing a torn ACL. Assuming his knee holds up, he should be a good replacement for Iupati. Thomas seems quicker than Iupati, although Thomas never has played a down in the NFL.
The biggest wild card on the offensive line—even bigger than Thomas—is Anthony Davis. He missed nine games last season due to various injuries. He seemed to suffer one after the other.
He’s a terrific run-blocker. When he’s healthy, the 49ers’ power-running game is tough to stop. But it falls apart when he’s injured.
Davis absolutely is essential.
Defensive Line
6 of 10
LDE: Quinton Dial
NT: Ian Williams
RDT: Darnell Dockett
Analysis: Here’s what head coach Jim Tomsula said about Arik Armstead after the 49ers drafted him: “We’re not in a situation where Arik has to come in and plug. This is a place where we can bring a guy in that hasn’t had those years in the weight room. That was playing basketball, who’s still young in what he’s doing. And traditionally here, when you come in it takes some training.”
Translation: Armstead probably won’t start his rookie season because he needs to get stronger.
Quinton Dial spent the past two years in the 49ers’ weight-training program—he probably is stronger than Armstead. And Dial earned a plus-5.9 run-defense grade from Pro Football Focus during the Niners’ final three games last season.
Dial probably will be the starting left defensive end in 2015. In 2016, he likely will move to nose tackle to make room for Armstead at left defensive end.
At right defensive tackle, Darnell Dockett could replace Justin Smith if he retires.
Although, Dockett still is rehabbing an ACL he tore in August. If his rehab takes longer than expected or if he doesn’t play well during training camp and the preseason, the Niners might give the job to Tank Carradine.
Carradine has played only 146 snaps during his two-season career, but last season he recorded three sacks during the Niners’ final three games.
Linebackers
7 of 10
LOLB: Aaron Lynch
LILB: Michael Wilhoite
RILB: NaVorro Bowman
ROLB: Aldon Smith
Analysis: Ahmad Brooks is a terrific run defender when he's in shape. If he’s in shape this season, he probably will play left outside linebacker in the base defense. But Aaron Lynch most likely will replace Brooks in the sub-packages because Lynch is the better pass-rusher.
At inside linebacker, the Niners might use a three-man rotation of Bowman, Wilhoite and Philip Wheeler. A rotation would help keep Bowman fresh. He probably shouldn’t play more than 650 snaps next season because he's coming off of a torn ACL and MCL.
Starting right outside linebacker Aldon Smith might play every snap next season. There's no reason to take him off the field when he's playing well.
If he gets hurt, his understudy probably will be third-round pick Eli Harold.
Secondary
8 of 10
LCB: Tramaine Brock
SS: Antoine Bethea
FS: Eric Reid
RCB: Shareece Wright
NICKEL: Jimmie Ward
DIME: Dontae Johnson
Analysis: This offseason, the Niners lost their right cornerback, Chris Culliver. So they replaced him with the San Diego Chargers’ former right cornerback, Shareece Wright.
Wright isn’t special or even particularly good, but he’s dependable. He started 27 games the past two seasons. No other cornerback on the Niners has started more than nine games during that period.
Slot corner Jimmie Ward started eight games as a rookie in 2014. He missed one game due to a quadriceps injury and the other seven due to a broken foot. He is still rehabbing the foot.
Dime corner Dontae Johnson started the final three games of the 2014 season at right cornerback. In the final game, he gave up five catches, 94 receiving yards and two touchdown catches to Arizona Cardinals receiver Michael Floyd, per Pro Football Focus.
Johnson plays better when he’s covering the slot. He probably will be the second slot corner in the Niners’ dime defense.
He might replace Jimmie Ward in the nickel defense when the opposing offense has the ball in the red zone. Johnson is three inches taller than Ward, so he is better equipped to knock down passes intended for tall receivers in the end zone.
Kicker
9 of 10
K: Phil Dawson
KO: Bradley Pinion
Analysis: Dawson had a down season in 2014.
He made only 80.6 percent of his field goals—his worst percentage since 2006. He’s 40, and he isn’t as accurate as he used to be.
Plus his leg seems like it lost strength. During the Niners’ final four games of 2014, Dawson kicked off 17 times. Only five of his kickoffs resulted in touchbacks, per Pro Football Focus. He might not have the leg strength to kick the ball into the end zone anymore.
And that might be one reason the 49ers drafted Bradley Pinion in Round 5. He’s a punter, but he also kicked off in college. And he has a strong leg. He most likely will be the 49ers’ kickoff specialist in 2015 while Dawson kicks the field goals.
Andy Lee
10 of 10
P: Andy Lee
Analysis: Lee will have to fight for his job. He will win the fight.
Sure, the Niners spent a fifth-round draft pick on Bradley Pinion, a big, strong, talented punter. But Pinion is no Andy Lee.
Pinion is just a rookie. Lee is still one of the five best punters in the NFL, and he’s in his prime. He’s only 32. He could be one of the five best punters in the league for another five years.
But he’s expensive. He’s scheduled to earn $2.55 million in 2015 and a whopping $3.33 million in 2016, per Spotrac.
The Niners likely don’t want to pay a punter all of that money. That’s why they drafted Pinion to begin with—to replace Lee as soon as possible. Lee will be able to hold off Pinion for one season.
All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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