Rookies helped 49ers get to Super Bowl six years ago. Can they do it again?

San Francisco Chronicle​

4 days ago

The last time so many important rookies were strewn across the SAP Performance Facility was 2019. Nick Bosa, Dre Greenlaw and Deebo Samuel were drafted that spring, mere months before they played crucial snaps for one of the youngest head coaches in the NFL.
Kyle Shanahan often reflects on the first San Francisco 49ers team he led to the Super Bowl, assuredly backed by immediate-impact youngsters. If multiple rookies don't step into starting roles this season, it won't be due to a lack of opportunity. Shanahan has made clear the 49ers aim to rely on first-year guys in 2025, akin to 2019, if all goes according to plan.
First-round defensive end Mykel Williams may not be an AP Defensive Rookie of the Year like Bosa. Nick Martin is probably not the next Greenlaw, as much as Niners general manager John Lynch wants him to be. And, well, Jordan Watkins isn't Deebo.
And that's OK. Shanahan, along with the veterans tasked to mentor the newbies, intend to give them the grace to grow up.
'You can't really fathom putting yourself (as a rookie) on that same level as the type of guys that have been there and done it and earned it at the highest level,' linebacker and team captain Fred Warner said Wednesday, following the team's first training-camp practice. 'But at the end of the day, they are human beings. And we were all rookies once.'
Warner was one of only a few core defensive players who were around to welcome defensive coordinator Robert Saleh back to Santa Clara, following the departures of six starters from the 49ers defense a season ago. Warner's weakside linebacker for the better part of five years, Greenlaw, being one of them.
Martin, a third-rounder competing to replace Greenlaw, was among five defensive rookies who received team-period reps Wednesday.
Of course, Williams was in the mix. Third-round nickel back Upton Stout worked in. And for the first time as 49ers, second-round defensive tackle Alfred Collins (calf) and fifth-round safety Marques Sigle (undisclosed) were full-go as well.
'There's a chance we could have six new guys starting,' Shanahan said of newcomers on the 49ers defense, including rookies. 'There's a chance we could have eight. Anytime you say that, that's different. That is a different team. That is a different side of the ball.'
Bosa, Greenlaw and Samuel combined to start 36 games as rookies in 2019. Bosa had nine sacks and 16 tackles for loss. Greenlaw recorded 92 tackles with one interception. Samuel compiled 961 scrimmage yards with three receiving touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns. Shanahan had no special formula for managing the 'ebbs and flows' of his rookie starters. It was sink or swim. But he afforded them time to sink first.
A generational talent, Bosa didn't need much of a grace period. But Greenlaw made eight of his 11 starts in the back half of that season. And Samuel's two best performances, back-to-back games with eight catches and 100-plus receiving yards, came in Weeks 8 and 9.
'They aren't going to figure it out right away,' Shanahan said. 'You can't just bench them as soon as they make a mistake early. That does take reps.
'You hope as they get those reps, they're not catastrophic because we're all judged on wins and losses. But there's some ebbs and flows in it, and if you're made of the right stuff, you can overcome those mistakes.'
As a high draft pick himself, Bosa — selected No. 2 overall in 2019 — can especially relate to the position Williams is in. San Francisco went 4-12 the year before drafting Bosa, who entered the league amid extremely high expectations. Williams was drafted at No. 11 overall after the 49ers missed the postseason for the first time in four years.
Bosa's best advice: 'The only thing that makes you really feel good is going out there and contributing and playing good because then all those negative thoughts of whether you're going to pan out, kind of just go away.
'I think Mykel does a really good job of that. He doesn't seem stressed at all.'
Shanahan was asked whether he would prioritize playing time for rookies, even if it cost the 49ers a game or two. Yes and no.
He'll play the best player, which at an unusual number of spots could be a rookie in Year 9.
'Yeah but it's also, is there a better vet behind him?' Shanahan said. 'You're going to play the best player, whether he's young or not. We're in a situation where we have a lot of opportunities for young guys to be our best players. We haven't had that in a while, probably since '19.'