We’re continuing the 9-part series where I rank each player, from 1-91, & of course today we’re ranking players 11-20.
Note: The reason I’m doing 91 is because the 49ers are able to carry Alfredo Gutierrez on their roster without him counting against the 90-man limit.
20. LS 46 Taybor Pepper(2025)
2023 Cap Number: $1,255,000
Chance of making Roster: Lock
Analysis: It’s saying a lot when you have a long snapper among the teams’ top 20 players, but Pepper has shown that he’s consistent, in a good way, he was rewarded with a 3-year extension, and as long as you don’t hear his name, that’s a good thing, unless he’s tackling return men, which he can do.
19. CB 22 Isaiah Oliver(2024)
2023 Cap Number: $1,686,000
Chance of making Roster: Lock
Analysis: The 49ers signed Oliver as a UFA from the Falcons, and he should be the teams’ starting slot cornerback/nickleback, and he ranked 6th among the best run defenders at cornerback last season, & fun fact being that his only 2022 INT came against the 49ers last season.
18. QB 5 Trey Lance(2025)
2023 Cap Number: $9,301,434
Chance of making Roster: Lock
Analysis: Despite rumors of a potential trade, Trey Lance is here to stay, at least for 2023, he showed flashes in 2022 before his broken ankle week 2, but I am 100% still a Trey Lance believer, he’ll have his chance to be the QB come week 1, which I believe he will be.
17. CB 2 Deommodore Lenoir(2024)
2023 Cap Number: $1,011,217
Chance of making Roster: Lock
Analysis: Lenoir was forced into playing the outside cornerback opposite Mooney Ward once Emmanuel Moseley went down with a torn ACL, and he didn’t disappoint, sure he wasn’t great at first, but he became a key, & vital piece of the 49ers secondary, so expect him to start opposite Ward in 2023.
16. LG 65 Aaron Banks(2024)
2023 Cap Number: $1,929,166
Chance of making Roster: Lock
Analysis: Banks is a guy who was looked as a reach in the 2021 draft, but in 2022 he proved that the 49ers made the right choice in letting Laken Tomlinson walk, as Banks had a very good year, and is a solid piece to the 49ers offensive line, he has a long future with the 49ers in my eyes.
15. WR 15 Jauan Jennings(2023)
2023 Cap Number: $940,000
Chance of making Roster: Lock
Analysis: The 49ers nailed their 2020 7th-round pick in Jauan Jennings, who has become a 3rd down conversion machine, Jennings is just scratching the surface of what he can be in this league, thankfully the 49ers have him for 2 more years, as he’s a RFA after 2023.
14. QB 13 Brock Purdy(2025)
2023 Cap Number: $889,253
Chance of making Roster: Lock
Analysis: Purdy took the NFL by storm, going a perfect 8-0 in games he started & finished, but he suffered a torn UCL in the NFC Title game, but luckily for the 49ers it wasn’t the UCL injury that would require Tommy John surgery, so Purdy should be back, but it’s more likely that he begins the 2023 season on reserve/PUP list than on the 53-man roster, unless the unlikely happens, and he recovers much faster.
13. FB 44 Kyle Juszcyzk(2025)
2023 Cap Number: $6,565,221
Chance of making Roster: Lock
Analysis: Juice is by far the best fullback in the NFL, and he has shown each year, that whether or not he has the stats, he still impacts the game, his run blocking is top notch, he can lineup all over the field, so expect big things from him, especially in the run game, this season, he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
12. SS 29 Talanoa Hufanga(2024)
2023 Cap Number: $1,000,038
Chance of making Roster: Lock
Analysis: Hufanga also took the NFL by storm, making not only the 2023 Pro Bowl games, but also being an All-Pro, he’s a guy who showed in year 2 that the 49ers made the right choice by letting Jaquiski Tartt walk.
11. WLB 57 Dre Greenlaw(2024)
2023 Cap Number: $5,548,558
Chance of making Roster: Lock
Analysis: Greenlaw had a great year in 2022, he was 2nd on the team in tackles, he really broke out, and his 2-year extension, at $8.2 million a year, is a steal, so I expect big things from Greenlaw, and another extension in 2024.
Thanks for reading, and follow me on Twitter @49erscap.
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