San Francisco 49ers: 4 Players Who Have Had a Resurgence Under Jim Harbaugh

Perhaps the most impressive part of Jim Harbaugh's new tenure in San Francisco has been his ability to get the best out of unexpected players.

Certainly many San Francisco players are fairing well this season—Frank Gore is a top-five running back in the league, and rookie Aldon Smith has emerged as one of the best defensive players from his draft class. 

But then there are players who, for one reason or another, were written off by fans or other teams. There have been multiple players on the 49ers roster who have exceeded all expectations and have proven that they do deserve respect and playing time in the NFL.

Let's take a look at four players who, under Jim Harbaugh and his staff, have had a resurgence for the 49ers.

NaVorro Bowman

Linebacker NaVorro Bowman wasn't exactly written off by fans the way the other three players on this list have been, but he's definitely exceeded even the wildest expectations.

When Takeo Spikes left San Francisco to sign with San Diego, there were many concerns that the San Francisco defense would suffer. Thanks to Bowman's emergence, the defense hasn't missed a beat.

Bowman, a second-year player out of Penn State, has broken out alongside star Patrick Willis as the key to the 49ers fantastic run defense. He leads the team with 56 tackles on the season and has a fumble recovery.

Apparently, even the 49ers coaching staff have a difficult time telling Bowman and Willis apart at times. 

Carlos Rodgers

Since being drafted with the ninth overall selection in the 2005 NFL draft, Carlos Rogers has been considered a disappointment. He's never played a full season, and his former team, the Washington Redskins, didn't make a huge effort to retain his services in the offseason.

So far this season, Rogers may be up there for comeback player of the year. He has three interceptions on the year, including one returned for a touchdown, and has constantly guarded the opposing teams best receiver. He has eight passes defended on the season, highest of the 49ers.

San Francisco's secondary had been the defense's biggest weakness over the past few years, but they've improved tremendously this season, and Rogers has been a huge part of that.

Delanie Walker

Delanie Walker has just 11 catches on the season, but three of them were for touchdowns, and he currently has the fourth most yards of any 49ers recievers.

Not bad for a tight end who plays second fiddle on the position alongside Vernon Davis.

He had perhaps the biggest touchdown of the season so far, with the game-winning score against Detroit in the 49ers 25-19 victory over the Lions in Week 6. 

Walker already has more touchdowns in this season than in any other in his career and is proving that the 49ers' balanced pass attack really is working.

Alex Smith

No one has had a more surprising season in the NFL than Alex Smith.

Through six games this season, Smith has eight touchdowns, a career high 63.8 percent completion rating and a 95.8 passer rating. The most surprising part has been that he's thrown only two interceptions on the season—that eight to two ratio of touchdowns to interceptions is only beaten by Aaron Rodgers, who has 20 touchdowns to three interceptions.

Smith struggled for years under various coaches and offensive coordinators and never seemed to have any confidence in his own abilities. That change in confidence has been the difference maker for Smith, and a lot of it has to be credited to Harbaugh.

Harbaugh came into the job with a fanbase who had been ready to give up on Smith seasons ago. Instead, Harbaugh trusted in Smith, worked with him in the offseason and has helped create Smith into one of the more dependable NFL quarterbacks.

The San Francisco offense has been far more consistent than in previous years, and a big part of that is the confidence Harbaugh helped build into Smith.