2019 Depth Chart Tracker/53-man Roster Predictions

Originally posted by NCommand:
Love this exchange!

The nice thing is Greenlaw is certainly a better off-ball linebacker and switch from the base down SAM like Harold and Nzeocha. If he's playing at SAM though, he'll still have to play mostly on the strong side and playing off blocks is a big weakness of his (and we know Saleh is all about that run defense). It'll be interesting to see who Saleh tries out at SAM going forward though...Lee, Smith, Greenlaw, Reynolds and Mayo. He certainly could rise to the top. I know we always want the shiny new toys to make it but IMHO, he's got an uphill battle and that's a good thing.

PS: interesting stat given the 50% hit rate for 1st rounders.

in this defense the SAM doesn't set the edge anymore though. That's why he's off the ball and interchangeable. The DE's will set the edge.

hit rates and making an active roster are huge differences though. Got to give your picks time to pan out. In 2016, 32 5th rounders made the active roster, 1 started, only 3 were cut.

Originally posted by OsBoogie:

in this defense the SAM doesn't set the edge anymore though. That's why he's off the ball and interchangeable. The DE's will set the edge.

hit rates and making an active roster are huge differences though. Got to give your picks time to pan out. In 2016, 32 5th rounders made the active roster, 1 started, only 3 were cut.

Most definitely but again, he'll still be dealing with T's G's, TE's coming at him. The DE will be wide 9 in many cases. That'll help protect off-tackle runs and funnel more inside but will also create more offensive bodies inside to sift through. Playing off blocks is his weakness.

Appreciate the research. So who do you have as the 6 WR's and LB's (curious).

OFF: 23
QB: G-rap, Mullens (2)
OL: Staley, McGlinchey, Richburg, Persons, Laken, Garnett, Coleman, Magnuson/Garland (8)
FB: Juice (1)
RB: Coleman, Breeda, Mostert (3)*
WR: Pettis, Deebo, Hurd, Taylor, Bourne, Goodwin (6)
TE: Kittle, Kaden Smith, ? (3)**

DEF:26
DL: Bosa, Buck, Solly, Arik, Dee, DJJ, Blair, Street, Day (9)
LB: Kwon, Fred, Lee, Greenlaw, Smith, Mayo (6)
CB: Sherm, Spoon, Verrett, DJ Reed, K'waun, ? (6)***
S: Tartt, Ward, Moore, Colbert, Harris (5)

ST: 3
K: Gould (1)
P: Wish (1)
LS: Holba/Nelson (1)****

* I have Jet starting on the PUP
** I expect a third TE to come down to Toilololol and Mayfield
*** I want to put Harris here as a 6th CB but I'm not sure if he'll be healthy. This is really up in the air
**** Not sure if Nelson is on the team after the suspension but very possible we cut Holba then

That leaves 1 spot open and I'm sure I missed someone. It very well could be CJB, another OL, or anywhere on D. Another ST ace? Of course that goes to Jet when he's healthy, but who knows what other injuries pop up by then

Originally posted by OsBoogie:

OFF: 23
QB: G-rap, Mullens (2)
OL: Staley, McGlinchey, Richburg, Persons, Laken, Garnett, Coleman, Magnuson/Garland (8)
FB: Juice (1)
RB: Coleman, Breeda, Mostert (3)*
WR: Pettis, Deebo, Hurd, Taylor, Bourne, Goodwin (6)
TE: Kittle, Kaden Smith, ? (3)**

DEF:26
DL: Bosa, Buck, Solly, Arik, Dee, DJJ, Blair, Street, Day (9)
LB: Kwon, Fred, Lee, Greenlaw, Smith, Mayo (6)
CB: Sherm, Spoon, Verrett, DJ Reed, K'waun, ? (6)***
S: Tartt, Ward, Moore, Colbert, Harris (5)

ST: 3
K: Gould (1)
P: Wish (1)
LS: Holba/Nelson (1)****

* I have Jet starting on the PUP
** I expect a third TE to come down to Toilololol and Mayfield
*** I want to put Harris here as a 6th CB but I'm not sure if he'll be healthy. This is really up in the air
**** Not sure if Nelson is on the team after the suspension but very possible we cut Holba then

That leaves 1 spot open and I'm sure I missed someone. It very well could be CJB, another OL, or anywhere on D. Another ST ace? Of course that goes to Jet when he's healthy, but who knows what other injuries pop up by then

I would certainly have zero issues with this. As a reference to the last two years, here was our final 53 last year to give you an idea how many we kept at each position. But with scheme changes on defense (need for ER's, more off-ball linebackers and depth there, interchangeable S's, etc.) and a diversity-focus on offense (4 RB's?, 3rd blocking TE still exist?, small shifty and size and length at the slot, RZ threats, etc.), things may change quite a bit.

Original 2018 Official 53-Man Roster:

Offense: --- 25
QB: Jimmy Garoppolo; C.J. Beathard
RB: Matt Breida; Alfred Morris & Raheem Mostert
FB: Kyle Juszczyk
TE: George Kittle; Garrett Celek & Cole Wick
XWR: Marquise Goodwin; Dante Pettis
SWR: Trent Taylor; Richie James Jr.
ZWR: Pierre Garcon; Kendrick Bourne
LT: Joe Staley; Shon Coleman
LG: Laken Tomlinson; Matt Tobin
C: Weston Richburg; Erik Magnuson
RG: Mike Person; Joshua Garnett
RT: Mike McGlinchey; Garry Gilliam

Defense: --- 25
LDE: Arik Armstead; Jullian Taylor
NT: Earl Mitchell; D.J. Jones
3T: DeForest Buckner;  Sheldon Day
LEO: Solomon Thomas; Cassius Marsh & Ronald Blair
SAM: Mark Nzeocha; Dekoda Watson
MIKE: Fred Warner; Brock Coyle
WILL: Malcolm Smith; Elijah Lee
LCB: Ahkello Witherspoon; Greg Mabin
SCB: K'Waun Williams; D.J. Reed
RCB: Richard Sherman; Tarvarius Moore
FS: Adrian Colbert; Jimmie Ward
SS: Jaquiski Tartt; Antone Exum Jr.

Special Teams: --- 3
LS: Kyle Nelson
K: Robbie Gould
P: Bradley Pinion

Originally posted by NCommand:
I would certainly have zero issues with this. As a reference to the last two years, here was our final 53 last year to give you an idea how many we kept at each position. But with scheme changes on defense (need for ER's, more off-ball linebackers and depth there, interchangeable S's, etc.) and a diversity-focus on offense (4 RB's?, 3rd blocking TE still exist?, small shifty and size and length at the slot, RZ threats, etc.), things may change quite a bit.

Original 2018 Official 53-Man Roster:

Offense: --- 25
QB: Jimmy Garoppolo; C.J. Beathard
RB: Matt Breida; Alfred Morris & Raheem Mostert
FB: Kyle Juszczyk
TE: George Kittle; Garrett Celek & Cole Wick
XWR: Marquise Goodwin; Dante Pettis
SWR: Trent Taylor; Richie James Jr.
ZWR: Pierre Garcon; Kendrick Bourne
LT: Joe Staley; Shon Coleman
LG: Laken Tomlinson; Matt Tobin
C: Weston Richburg; Erik Magnuson
RG: Mike Person; Joshua Garnett
RT: Mike McGlinchey; Garry Gilliam

Defense: --- 25
LDE: Arik Armstead; Jullian Taylor
NT: Earl Mitchell; D.J. Jones
3T: DeForest Buckner; Sheldon Day
LEO: Solomon Thomas; Cassius Marsh & Ronald Blair
SAM: Mark Nzeocha; Dekoda Watson
MIKE: Fred Warner; Brock Coyle
WILL: Malcolm Smith; Elijah Lee
LCB: Ahkello Witherspoon; Greg Mabin
SCB: K'Waun Williams; D.J. Reed
RCB: Richard Sherman; Tarvarius Moore
FS: Adrian Colbert; Jimmie Ward
SS: Jaquiski Tartt; Antone Exum Jr.

Special Teams: --- 3
LS: Kyle Nelson
K: Robbie Gould
P: Bradley Pinion

would seem I'm short on OL. Would make sense to add another there

I think the biggest thing, and Shanahan talked about it at the State of the Franchise event, is that we've not just spent the past few years trying to find the new starters, we've also spent that time fortifying our depth. Injuries killed us far worse than many other teams because our lack of starting talent was compounded by a serious lack of depth. Position-by-position, I think we addressed a lot of areas. More than some might give credit for. In some areas last year, we found players who will provide depth year that were previous unknowns (Mullens, Mostert, Bourne, Marcell Harris).

QB: We didn't truly know what we had in Mullens until later in the year. It's plain to see the guy has a winner's mentality. At the same time, who know if Beathard makes a surprise jump too. Would be a good problem for us. Also added UDFA project Wilton Speight.

RB: Coleman added, Austin Walter added, McKinnon returns from injury, and Breida, Wilson, and Mostert all have starting caliber traits from what we've seen so far.

TE: Kaden Smith, Levine Toilolo, and UDFA Tyree Mayfield added to the group. With Celek still having lingering concussion and back issues, I imagine he may be let go with an injury settlement at some point.

WR: Jalen Hurd, Deebo Samuel, Jordan Matthews and UDFAs Shawn Poindexter and Malik Henry added.

OT: Daniel Brunskill and Justin Skule added. Coleman will also get his shot now at OT to be the swing player.

OG/C: While similarly to OT, it's not with star-studded guys, we still brought several people in. Ben Garland, Willie Beavers, Wesley Johnson, and UDFA Ross Reynolds added.

DL: Street returns from injury, Nick Bosa, Dee Ford, and UDFAs Jamell Garcia-Williams and Kevin Givens added.

LB: Kwon Alexander, David Mayo, Dre Greenlaw, LaRoy Reynolds, and UDFA Aziz Al-Shaair added. After making some schematic tweaks, the team appears set to employ more 4-3 over fronts with three off-ball linebackers.

CB: Jason Verrett, Dontae Johnson, rookies Tim Harris and Alex Brown added. Promising UDFA 2018 rook Emmanuel Moseley returns from injury.

S: Colbert and Tartt return from injury, Moore very well might finally make the shift to FS, Exum and Ward brought back for depth, and UDFA Flannigan-Fowles added.

Really, the only area we didn't actively do much of anything in, in terms of new resources invested, was safety. However, if Moore can somehow, someway convince the coaches to leave him at FS, we could have a heck of a safety group with Moore, Colbert, Tartt, and Marcell Harris. I suppose the team can argue that him being able to play both helps fortify depth at both areas. Even so, all that said, I think we did a much better job of tackling (no pun intended) our depth issues than it seemed at first. We have more starting caliber players than a year ago, that's for sure, and the talent of our depth I think should bode well for us going forward if/when we are faced with having to play the 2nd string guy.

Originally posted by OsBoogie:

would seem I'm short on OL. Would make sense to add another there

Good call esp. with our luck with injuries.

Other spots I ponder, a true 3rd blocking TE? Given it sounds we'll be using that position for a number of RB's and WR's out of that spot, and with Juice and Toilolo and maybe Matthews and Hurd could provide seal-blocks in 2-TE sets.

4th RB given the attrition rate? That guarantees only 2 QB's.

Could they go 7 LB's now given the SAM just moved from a 300 snap position to 1K position and we need real depth there too?

Types of S's...starters such as Tartt and Harris at FS/SS or Moore/Colbert and Tartt/Harris?

Originally posted by NCommand:
Good call esp. with our luck with injuries.

Other spots I ponder, a true 3rd blocking TE? Given it sounds we'll be using that position for a number of RB's and WR's out of that spot, and with Juice and Toilolo and maybe Matthews and Hurd could provide seal-blocks in 2-TE sets.

4th RB given the attrition rate? That guarantees only 2 QB's.

Could they go 7 LB's now given the SAM just moved from a 300 snap position to 1K position and we need real depth there too?

Types of S's...starters such as Tartt and Harris at FS/SS or Moore/Colbert and Tartt/Harris?

Kaden Smith is actually more of a receiving option at TE than blocking. I do think we will work on his blocking but he's not just that at this point. Only true blocking TE would be Toilolo. Now if Kaden Smith also proves to be adequate enough at blocking, Toilolo could be gone for a joker type like Mayfield and hopefully in the future, Hurd.

I think Jet starts on PUP which gives us wiggle room to start w/ 3 RB's and 1 FB. Makes sense number wise and we don't rush his recovery. He could return after the BYE. Cross that bridge then. We may need him by then.

A LB will still come off the field for a DB in nickle. Not sure why you think the snaps are going up. Just a different type of LB at SAM but we're likely looking at our Warner and Kwon as our LB's in nickel.

I still think it's Tartt/Ward to start. While they will flip roles, I don't think it's that even where one will not necessarily be the FS. The hope is that Moore takes over Ward's spot as FS. Tartt/Harris/Colbert could battle it out for the SS spot.

those are my takes at least.

Originally posted by OsBoogie:

Kaden Smith is actually more of a receiving option at TE than blocking. I do think we will work on his blocking but he's not just that at this point. Only true blocking TE would be Toilolo. Now if Kaden Smith also proves to be adequate enough at blocking, Toilolo could be gone for a joker type like Mayfield and hopefully in the future, Hurd.

I think Jet starts on PUP which gives us wiggle room to start w/ 3 RB's and 1 FB. Makes sense number wise and we don't rush his recovery. He could return after the BYE. Cross that bridge then. We may need him by then.

A LB will still come off the field for a DB in nickle. Not sure why you think the snaps are going up. Just a different type of LB at SAM but we're likely looking at our Warner and Kwon as our LB's in nickel.

I still think it's Tartt/Ward to start. While they will flip roles, I don't think it's that even where one will not necessarily be the FS. The hope is that Moore takes over Ward's spot as FS. Tartt/Harris/Colbert could battle it out for the SS spot.

those are my takes at least.

Yeah the nice thing about Toilolo is he's a terrific run blocker and can catch too and that frame could help a lot in that RZ in both aspects. 3 TE's might just be too many now given Kyle's plans to exploit defenses there with so many weapons.

I think Jet on I.R. designation to return is a sound approach. Otherwise he'd have to be an active 53 and inactive 46 on game day, right? And take up a roster spot?

We run a ton of SNICKEL here...nickel but with bigger run defense personnel. In all, we were in base + (s)nickel vs. (traditional) nickel closer to 50% each. I shouldn't have referenced 1K...just unsure how Saleh plans to employ the 3 today. In rotation? Kwon's injury might have the SAM take the WILL in coverage until Kwon is 100%?

Dear Lord...I know Sherman referenced getting back Ward to in time for the season as well. SMH. Hopefully, with the players you noted, it will be moot by the time Ward gets healthy.

Originally posted by NCommand:
Yeah the nice thing about Toilolo is he's a terrific run blocker and can catch too and that frame could help a lot in that RZ in both aspects. 3 TE's might just be too many now given Kyle's plans to exploit defenses there with so many weapons.

I think Jet on I.R. designation to return is a sound approach. Otherwise he'd have to be an active 53 and inactive 46 on game day, right? And take up a roster spot?

We run a ton of SNICKEL here...nickel but with bigger run defense personnel. In all, we were in base + (s)nickel vs. (traditional) nickel closer to 50% each. I shouldn't have referenced 1K...just unsure how Saleh plans to employ the 3 today. In rotation? Kwon's injury might have the SAM take the WILL in coverage until Kwon is 100%?

Dear Lord...I know Sherman referenced getting back Ward to in time for the season as well. SMH. Hopefully, with the players you noted, it will be moot by the time Ward gets healthy.

Toilolo can catch ok. He doesn't get too open though. I think we've seen his max at the receiving side and it's not very high.

If and when we have 4 RB's on the 53, I'd be surprised if one isn't deactivated. Which would suck, but I'm sure we'll hear that they are dinged up or something.

We may use more safeties than CB's as a bigger nickel but still usually only 2 LB's. with the new type of SAM we have, sure Smith or Greenlaw could be there in coverage if Kwon is not 100%

let's just hope Moore shows them he's a better option.

Originally posted by OsBoogie:

Toilolo can catch ok. He doesn't get too open though. I think we've seen his max at the receiving side and it's not very high.

If and when we have 4 RB's on the 53, I'd be surprised if one isn't deactivated. Which would suck, but I'm sure we'll hear that they are dinged up or something.

We may use more safeties than CB's as a bigger nickel but still usually only 2 LB's. with the new type of SAM we have, sure Smith or Greenlaw could be there in coverage if Kwon is not 100%

let's just hope Moore shows them he's a better option.

Right...I might have got the wires crossed but thought I read Toilolo's best year as ax receiver was under Kyle? But if anything, a version of Celek at best would be goof expectations with added strength in run blocking.

Agreed.

That's a very viable option indeed. I was thinking about that last year. Remember when we tried to convert Eric Reid to WILL?

I still have hope for Colbert too. I just want someone to run away with that second S spot!

Originally posted by KeepRabbitsOut:
So as it stands today of the possible game one starters we have:

RB - Raheem Mostert - Probable
LS - Kyle Nelson - Out (6 games left to serve on his suspension)
S - Jimmie Ward - Collarbone - Probable (Brake)
QB - Jimmy G - Knee - Questionable (ACL)
DB - DJ Reed - Shoulder - Questionable (Torn Labrum)
C - Weston Richburg - Knee/Quadraceps - Questionable
LB - Kwon Alexander - Knee - Probable (ACL)

Updated and it appears there must be a few under wraps.

Originally posted by NCommand:
Right...I might have got the wires crossed but thought I read Toilolo's best year as ax receiver was under Kyle? But if anything, a version of Celek at best would be goof expectations with added strength in run blocking.

Agreed.

That's a very viable option indeed. I was thinking about that last year. Remember when we tried to convert Eric Reid to WILL?

I still have hope for Colbert too. I just want someone to run away with that second S spot!

it was semi effective and was only for a short time. I thought the move was to keep Reid at S and move Tartt to WILL. Guys like Colbert, Tartt, etc can really walk that line effectively if given the chance.

Originally posted by OsBoogie:

it was semi effective and was only for a short time. I thought the move was to keep Reid at S and move Tartt to WILL. Guys like Colbert, Tartt, etc can really walk that line effectively if given the chance.

Yeah and even Greenlaw was a former safety too.

Originally posted by NCommand:
Yeah and even Greenlaw was a former safety too.

there's definitely a lot of options for us in nickel while still being able to play the run