San Francisco 49ers: Biggest Questions Left to Answer Before Start of Season

The San Francisco 49ers open their training camp on August 1 at Levi’s Stadium, and there are still many questions the franchise needs to answer. 

Considering a new coaching staff has been installed and the team has lost 14 players who played at least 100 snaps last season, it would be more shocking if the team didn’t have questions.  Finishing 8-8 after three consecutive NFC Championship appearances also brings with it questions leading into the 2015 season.

In fact, “questionable” might be your one key word for 2015. 

The 49ers bring a questionable coaching staff and questionable replacements for longtime contributors to the table, holding questionable competitions for starting roles and hoping for bounce-back seasons after questionable performances from some of their major building blocks.  Questionable does not mean bad by any stretch of the imagination—but the 49ers have one of the widest ranges of realistic possibilities this season, thanks to all the unknowns.

Here are five of the questions the 49ers will be trying to answer before the season begins.

Will Colin Kaepernick Bounce Back?

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

Colin Kaepernick struggled through his worst season as an NFL player in 2014 and put up the worst team-passing performance since before Jim Harbaugh came to town, in the days when Alex Smith and Troy Smith were sharing snaps.

This is problematic, as you can make a strong argument that Kaepernick has gotten worse every season since he burst onto the scene in 2012.  His quarterback rating has certainly dropped in each season, as has his yards per attempt.  His interception total has increased with every season, as has his sack numbers. 

It’s at least a reasonable hypothesis that teams have figured Kaepernick out to a certain extent—he came onto the scene as part of a rushing revolution with the likes of Robert Griffin and Russell Wilson, but those read-option mechanics have become less revolutionary as NFL defenses have had time to adjust.  Is it possible that Kaepernick was a one-trick pony who just isn’t as good as he looked originally?

The reality, of course, is not that simple. 

The 49ers’ offense last season was hampered by offensive line inconsistency, the sudden regression of sure-handed Vernon Davis and questionable play-calling that tried to make Kaepernick into more of a pure pocket-passer—playing away from his strengths.  Kaepernick worked with Kurt Warner and Dennis Gile this offseason, and new 49ers quarterbacks coach Steve Logan has a very strong history working with developing players such as Matt Ryan, Jeff Blake and David Garrard, all Pro Bowlers.

Colin Kaepernick is never going to be able to do what Peyton Manning or Tom Brady can do, but then, neither Manning nor Brady can do what Kaepernick can.  Rather than build an offense around what a quarterback “should” be able to do, if the 49ers can construct an offense around Kaepernick’s actual skill set, he could see significant improvement in 2015.  It still has to be first and foremost on any list of remaining questions needing answers.

Can Carlos Hyde Handle the Load?

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

For the first time since 2005, someone not named Frank Gore will lead the 49ers in carries.  All signs point to second-year man Carlos Hyde, who showed flashes last year in relatively limited action.

While I’m high on Hyde, pointing to games against Seattle and Dallas where he greatly impressed, the fact remains that he only had 83 carries last season.  That’s far too small a sample size to really have a solid grip on what he’ll be able to do on the field.  We know he has plenty of solid potential, and the shift to a more zone-based rushing attack, as reported by Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, will help his particular rushing style.

One thing that will greatly help Kaepernick’s chances at a bounce-back season is if Hyde can become a true workhorse back in year two.  He needs to take his greater opportunity and turn his flashes into consistent and solid production.  I don’t think 1,000 yards is out of the question, but it really remains to be seen just how productive he can be as the featured back in an NFL offense.

Who Will Start on the Offensive Line?

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

One of the biggest problems the 49ers faced on offense last season was the offensive line's chemistry.  Thanks to injuries to Anthony Davis and Daniel Kilgore, the 49ers were forced to start seven separate offensive line combinations in 2014.  That lack of chemistry, as much as anything else, contributed to the 52 sacks Colin Kaepernick absorbed, as well as the drop-off in run-blocking efficiency.

Entering 2015, only one starting position is really locked in—left tackle Joe Staley is still one of the best in the game and will be there barring injury.  The other four starting spots, however, all have question marks.

At right tackle, Anthony Davis' retirement leaves a hole that needs to be filled.  Free-agent acquisition Erik Pears might be the man to fill it, though he underwhelmed in Buffalo.  According to the Sacramento Bee’s Matt Barrows, seventh-round pick Trent Brown impressed during OTAs and could be a dark horse to fill the role as well.

The other logical right tackle candidate is Alex Boone, but moving him to right tackle leaves a hole at his right guard position.  If he moves to tackle, that will need to be filled as well.

The logical replacement for him would be either Daniel Kilgore or Marcus Martin, but they have to first battle to see who gets to be the starting center in 2015.  Martin had some severe struggles as a rookie when he was forced into the lineup after Kilgore’s injury, but he’s still only 21 years old with high hopes for his future development.  That battle would have to be solved before moving someone over to replace Boone.

Kilgore and Martin are the best options to fill in at right guard because the top offensive guard prospect on the team, Brandon Thomas, will likely be filling in for Mike Iupati on the other side of the line of scrimmage.  Thomas missed all of last season with a torn ACL, so we don’t know how well he’ll adjust, either.  Joe Looney is the veteran at the position who could start if Thomas is not ready.

Those are a lot of question marks.  The 49ers need to figure out a nominal starting five sooner rather than later so they can work together as a unit.  I feel the best unit for the future would be a Boone-Martin-Kilgore-Thomas-Staley line from right to left, but whatever they choose, they should choose it quickly.

What Does the Defensive End Rotation Look Like?

Michael Zagaris/Getty Images

Tank Carradine and Jim Tomsula

Last season, Justin Smith and Ray McDonald combined for 1,428 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.  The rest of the defensive line combined for 1,227 snaps.  That’s quite a void to fill.

It’s unlikely that any two defensive ends play all the snaps that Smith and McDonald left last season; it will most likely be some sort of rotation.  Tank Carradine and Tony Jerod-Eddie return from last year to pick up some of the slack.  Carradine is still waiting to have that breakout season that the team had hoped for when they drafted him as a redshirt two seasons ago, but he was at least solid in limited action last year.  Jerod-Eddie was less so, especially struggling in run defense.

Another option is to slide Quinton Dial to the outside.  He got his first real chance at action last season filling in at nose tackle for the injured Ian Williams (and Glenn Dorsey) and was really very solid, improving as he had more and more snaps under his belt.  Williams and Dorsey are both healthy at the moment, knock on wood, so maybe Dial continues his development by bouncing back to the outside, where he received snaps at the beginning of last season.

There’s also the two newcomers.  Darnell Dockett has had a very solid career in Arizona, but he missed the entire 2014 season with a torn ACL.  If he’s healthy, and is a fraction of the player he was in 2012, he could provide some valuable veteran leadership to a very young line. 

On the flipside of the experience level is first-round pick Arik Armstead, a player filled with potential, but one most have labeled as developmental.  The speed of Docket’s recovery and Armstead’s adaptation to the NFL will have a major impact on the actual play of the defensive line this season.

Who Starts at Cornerback?

Ronald C. Modra/Sports Imagery/Getty Images

Tramaine Brock

Much like the defensive end position, the 49ers have holes to fill here.  Last season, Perrish Cox and Chris Culliver combined for 1,804 snaps at cornerback, per PFF, while the rest of the team had just 1,014.  That’s a lot of time on the field to make up.

Tramaine Brock, assuming he’s healed from the toe injury he suffered last season, is almost a surefire lock to fill one of the two starting positions.  He had a great 2013 and received a new contract thanks to his play, but he struggled to stay healthy last season, which was pretty much a write-off.  If he can rebound to his 2013 production, he’s probably an upgrade over either Culliver or Cox—but that is a significant “if.”  

Jimmie Ward joins Brock in the recovering-from-injury category.  Other than a horrific night against Brandon Marshall in Chicago, Ward showed promise as a rookie before going down.  He’s probably the favorite for the nickel cornerback role.

The 49ers then brought in Shareece Wright in free agency, but Wright hasn’t exactly been lighting up the field in San Diego.  Wright’s been in the bottom 10 of PFF’s cornerback rankings in each of the last two seasons.  The 49ers seem to be hoping he can have a turnaround like Carlos Rogers did when he joined the 49ers, but Rogers started at a much higher level than Wright did.

More promising perhaps are the collection of young players the 49ers have at the position. 

Dontae Johnson looked good last season as he got pushed into more and more significant playing time with injuries.  Promoting him to a starter at the end of last season might have been a little premature, but as a nickel and dime cornerback, he played exceptionally well for a fourth-round rookie.  You also have Keith Reaser and Kenneth Acker, fresh off season-long stretches on the injury list, coming and battling for spots.  It should be a good competition at the position.

Bryan Knowles is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers.  Follow him @BryKno on Twitter.