49ers Players with Most to Prove Ahead of 2021 Season

The San Francisco 49ers are in an interesting position heading into the 2021 NFL season. On one hand, they're hitting the reset button at quarterback after trading up to draft Trey Lance. On the other hand, they're expected to have a healthy and playoff-caliber roster.

The 49ers' season will be about the future while also carrying championship aspirations.

Caught in the middle will be several players looking to prove themselves for both the short and the long term. They'll need to help the 49ers compete this season while also playing for the post-Jimmy Garoppolo era.

Here we'll examine three 49ers players with the most to prove in 2021.

QB Jimmy Garoppolo

Scott Eklund/Associated Press

It's clear that Garoppolo is no longer the quarterback of the future in San Francisco. Barring something unexpected, however, he will be on the roster this season.

"I expect Jimmy to be here, and I'd be surprised if he wasn't," head coach Kyle Shanahan said on May 5, per ESPN's Nick Wagoner.

Garoppolo will first have to fend off Lance in an offseason quarterback competition. Assuming he keeps the starting job, he'll be playing for his NFL future. He is set to carry a cap hit of $27 million in 2022, but only $1.4 million of that is guaranteed. This means that the 49ers can move on from Garoppolo next offseason with minimal financial impact.

We have seen stretches of brilliance from Garoppolo, who passed for 3,978 yards with 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 2019. We've also watched as he has missed 23 games because of injury over the past three seasons.

If Garoppolo is going to earn another starting opportunity, he'll need to prove he can stay healthy and play at an above-average level this season. Ideally, he can do both, which would benefit Garoppolo's future while also positively impacting San Francisco's playoff outlook.

OT Mike McGlinchey

Winslow Townson/Associated Press

This offseason, the 49ers locked up left tackle Trent Williams with a new six-year, $138.06 million deal. He isn't going anywhere. The future of starting right tackle Mike McGlinchey is a little less clear.

A first-round pick in 2018, McGlinchey has been relatively reliable in his first three seasons. He has missed only four games and played 100 percent of the offensive snaps in both 2018 and 2020. However, he hasn't been an elite tackle and was responsible for five penalties and five sacks allowed this past season, according to Pro Football Focus.

San Francisco exercised the fifth-year option on McGlinchey's contract this offseason, meaning he should be around for at least the next two seasons. If McGlinchey hopes to stick around beyond 2022, however, he'll need to be better than he was in 2020.

The reality is that the 49ers aren't going to invest a ton of money into an average tackle while also paying the big bucks to Williams—who is set to carry a cap hit of over $26 million in 2023. If McGlinchey cannot prove that he is a franchise-caliber right tackle, the 49ers will likely begin working on a replacement plan.

This is a good time to point out that rookie second-round pick Aaron Banks spent some time at tackle at Notre Dame.

DT Javon Kinlaw

Jennifer Stewart/Associated Press

Last offseason, the 49ers traded away star defensive tackle DeForest Buckner. To help replace him, they used the 14th overall pick in the draft on South Carolina's Javon Kinlaw. Unfortunately, Kinlaw was not the same sort of impact defender that Buckner is.

Kinlaw appeared in 14 games as a rookie and amassed 33 tackles. However, he only produced 1.5 sacks and 10 quarterback pressures. To be fair, Kinlaw didn't have the benefit of playing alongside Nick Bosa, who missed the majority of the season with a torn ACL.

With Bosa demanding attention off the edge, Kinlaw might have more opportunities to disrupt plays from the interior in 2021.

Still, there's no getting around the fact that San Francisco needs to see more from its second-year defensive tackle. Otherwise, Kinlaw will be in danger of going the Solomon Thomas route. The third overall pick in the 2017 draft failed to regularly influence plays and only lasted four seasons with the 49ers before departing in free agency.

Contract information via Spotrac. Advanced statistics from Pro Football Reference unless otherwise noted.