Breaking Down All the New Faces on the 2015 San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers hardly resemble the team that went to the Super Bowl in 2013.
Most of the key coaches and starters from that team are gone. The main holdovers are quarterback Colin Kaepernick, tackle Joe Staley, guard Alex Boone, tight end Vernon Davis, fullback Bruce Miller, inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman and outside linebackers Aldon Smith and Ahmad Brooks—only eight of 22 starters.
The 49ers added a whole new group of faces this offseason to fill the holes on their team. The Niners have a totally new look.
Here is a complete breakdown of the top 12 new players on the 49ers.
Torrey Smith, Wide Receiver, 5th Year
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The 49ers’ best deep threat last season was 33-year-old wide receiver Brandon Lloyd. According to Pro Football Focus, he caught five of 16 passes when targeted 20 or more yards downfield. That's not much of a deep threat.
This offseason, the Niners let Lloyd walk in free agency (no team has signed him yet) and replaced him with one of the premier deep threats in the NFL—former Baltimore Ravens receiver Torrey Smith.
When targeted 20 or more yards downfield, Smith caught eight of 21 passes in 2014, 10 of 41 passes in 2013 and 13 of 44 passes in 2012.
The Niners haven’t had a deep-threat receiver as good as Smith in a long time. The Niners' last receiver to make more than seven catches 20 or more yards downfield in a season was Isaac Bruce in 2008.
Reggie Bush, Running Back, 10th Year
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The 49ers’ new coaching staff has changed certain core elements of the team. One of the elements involves veteran running back Reggie Bush, whom the Niners signed this offseason.
Bush would not have fit with the 49ers under former head coach Jim Harbaugh. The quarterback almost never passed to running backs under Harbaugh, so Bush’s best attribute—catching the football—would have been wasted in San Francisco.
Now, his receiving talent is a central part of the Niners offense.
The Niners want to make things easier on Kaepernick. “Let’s make everything we do with him quarterback-friendly,” quarterbacks coach Steve Logan said last Thursday. One of the ways to do that is to give Kaepernick easier, shorter throws.
And who's better to catch those short passes than Bush? As recently as 2013, he averaged 9.4 yards per catch—elite for a running back. He might be the Niners’ third-leading receiver next year.
That would be a good thing. The more Bush gets the ball next season, the higher Kaepernick’s completion percentage will be.
Erik Pears, Offensive Lineman, 10th Year
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The 49ers signed Erik Pears this offseason to replace Jonathan Martin as the backup right tackle.
Then starting right tackle Anthony Davis retired during OTAs, and Pears became the starting right tackle by default.
Pears should be up to the task—he has started 86 games during his nine-season career. He’s a pro. And he’s a solid pass protector, too, never having given up more than four sacks in a season, according to Pro Football Focus.
Pears might be an upgrade over Davis when it comes to pass protection. Davis gave up three sacks in just seven games last season.
Here's the question with Pears: Can he run block? The Niners’ best run-blockers—Staley and Boone—play on the left side of the offensive line. The right side will feature Pears and guard Marcus Martin or guard Brandon Thomas.
If they struggle as run-blockers, the 49ers running game will be left-handed, predictable and easy to stop. Pears will be a key player next season.
Darnell Dockett, Defensive Lineman, 12th Year
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The 49ers needed to come up with creative ways to replace two of the best 3-4 defensive ends in the NFL this offseason—Justin Smith and Ray McDonald.
During OTAs and minicamp, the Niners seemed to be using platoons along the defensive line—certain defensive linemen to stuff the run in the base defense, others to rush the passer in the sub-packages.
Dockett would be a terrific addition to anyone’s sub-package defensive-line rotation—the 34-year-old has 40.5 sacks in his 11-season career. That's tremendous production for an interior defensive lineman.
But he missed last season with a torn ACL. He suffered the injury during training camp, and he’s still rehabbing. He did not participate in OTAs or minicamp. It is unknown whether he will participate in training camp, but he expects to be ready when the regular season begins, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Whenever Dockett returns, he will make the 49ers defense better.
Shareece Wright, Cornerback, 5th Year
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This offseason, the 49ers lost both of their starting cornerbacks: Chris Culliver and Perrish Cox. The Niners had one veteran replacement already on the roster: Tramaine Brock. They wanted another veteran corner, so they signed the 28-year old Shareece Wright.
Experience is the main thing Wright has going for him. He started 27 games over the past two seasons—far more than any other corner on the Niners during that time period.
But Wright isn’t particularly good. He committed 20 penalties over the past two seasons—almost one per start. And he hasn’t intercepted any passes during his career.
Wright got off to a bad start with the Niners, missing all of OTAs and minicamp with an undisclosed injury. He might lose his starting job if a young corner stands out during training camp and the preseason.
Jerome Simpson, Wide Receiver, 7th Year
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Last season, Kaepernick seemed like the only fast player on the Niners offense.
The top two running backs—Frank Gore and Carlos Hyde—were downhill inside runners. The top three wide receivers—Anquan Boldin, Michael Crabtree and Stevie Johnson—were possession receivers. And the tight end—Vernon Davis—was injured and slow.
This season, Boldin might be the only slow player on the offense. Davis is healthy and fast, and Gore, Crabtree and Johnson are all gone.
Jerome Simpson replaces Johnson as the Niners' No. 3 receiver. Simpson is an outstanding deep threat, almost as dangerous as Torrey Smith.
Simpson didn’t play last season, but in 2013, he caught 10 of 24 passes that were 20 or more yards downfield, per Pro Football Focus.
Arik Armstead, Defensive Lineman, Rookie
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The 49ers spent their first-round draft pick this year on former Oregon defensive lineman Arik Armstead.
Armstead will probably be the long-term replacement for either Justin Smith or Ray McDonald. But someone other than Armstead probably will replace them in the short term.
Armstead is only 21, and he has been a full-time football player for just one year. To make things tougher on him, he couldn’t participate in the Niners' rookie minicamp, OTAs or voluntary veteran minicamp this offseason. Armstead had to sit at home until his class graduated from Oregon.
We probably won’t see Armstead play much until later in the regular season, when he catches up to the veterans.
Jaquiski Tartt, Safety, Rookie
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When the Niners drafted former Samford safety Jaquiski Tartt in the second round, it seemed like they took him to someday replace veteran strong safety Antoine Bethea, who turns 31 in July.
But Tartt played free safety in college, not strong safety. And during OTAs and minicamp, he played free safety for the second-team defense, which makes you wonder why the Niners drafted him in the first place.
The Niners already have a Pro Bowl free safety—Eric Reid. And he’s only 23.
But Reid has suffered three concussions during his two-season career. Perhaps the Niners are preparing for life without Reid in case he suffers another concussion. If that happens, Tartt would probably be Reid's replacement.
Eli Harold, Outside Linebacker, Rookie
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Before last season, Aldon Smith had recorded 42 sacks in 43 games. He was one of the best pass-rushers in the NFL, seemingly a future Hall of Famer.
But in 2014, he recorded only two sacks in seven games. The NFL suspended him for the first nine games, and after the suspension, he seemed like a completely different player. He seemed like he had lost his edge.
Maybe he was out of game shape. Maybe he’s in shape now and will have a fantastic season in 2015. That's possible.
It's also possible that he's declining. The Niners prepared for that possibility by drafting outside linebacker Eli Harold in Round 3. If Smith continues his downward slide, Harold can replace him.
Harold was the 49ers’ most explosive pass-rusher in OTAs and minicamp—even more explosive than Smith. We’ll learn more about those two when they put the pads on during training camp.
Blake Bell, Tight End, Rookie
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The 49ers spent their first fourth-round pick this year on former Oklahoma quarterback and tight end Blake Bell.
Bell played quarterback during his first three seasons in college. He started during his junior year and threw 12 touchdown passes, losing only two games. During his senior year, he switched to tight end and made 16 catches.
Bell can be the 49ers’ emergency third-string quarterback on game days if the Niners carry only two quarterbacks on their 53-man roster. But that won’t be Bell’s primary role.
Bell might be the starting tight end as soon as 2016. The current starter, Vernon Davis, has just one year left on his contract. And the No. 2 tight end, former 2013 second-round pick Vance McDonald, has been a disappointment, catching just 10 passes in his first two seasons in the league.
Mike Davis, Running Back, Rookie
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The 49ers spent their second fourth-round pick this year on former South Carolina running back Mike Davis.
Before drafting Davis, the Niners had just one inside runner in their backfield—Carlos Hyde. The other running backs—Reggie Bush and Kendall Hunter—are outside-running scatbacks. If Hyde gets hurt next season, neither Bush nor Hunter can replace him as the 49ers’ primary inside runner. But Davis can.
And if Hyde doesn’t get hurt, Davis can still contribute to the offense. He showed during OTAs and minicamp that he’s a terrific receiver—much better than Hyde, who dropped a few passes.
Davis might be a better third-down back than Hyde next season. Third-down backs must be good receivers and blockers because third down is typically a passing down.
Bradley Pinion, Punter, Rookie
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The 49ers spent their fifth-round pick this year on former Clemson punter Bradley Pinion, even though they already had one of the best punters in the NFL—Andy Lee.
Pinion was so impressive during rookie minicamp and OTAs that the 49ers traded Lee to the Cleveland Browns before Lee ever showed up to the 49ers' offseason training program. The Niners didn’t need to see anything from Lee. They had seen enough from Pinion. They gave him the starting job.
Pinion averaged only 42.6 yards per punt last season at Clemson, and Lee averaged 46.8 for the Niners in 2014. But Pinion has a knack for pinning punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line and generating tremendous hang time—that’s what I noticed when watching Pinion in person.
Pinion is not one to outkick his coverage, though, as Andy Lee occasionally does.
All quotations and practice observations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Follow @grantcohn.
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