San Francisco 49ers: Three rookies who will likely start in 2018

The San Francisco 49ers have high hopes going into 2018. If these three rookies are effective starters for them, they have a good chance of living up to these newfound expectations.

The San Francisco 49ers had a surprising season in 2017. They began the year as one of the league’s worst teams, going over half the season without a single win. The franchise had little hope for both the present and the future. Things were looking bleak in the bay area.

That all changed when the team made the biggest trade of the year. As you all know, this trade was to acquire now franchise quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo. This move immediately gave the team a bright future to look forward to, this is expected when a team makes a trade of this magnitude.

What was not expected was that this acquisition would also bring the 49ers relevance in the present. After bringing in their quarterback, the team rattled off five straight wins to close out the season. They looked like an entirely different team than the 49ers squad that started the season with nine straight weeks of disappointment.

Finishing a season that strong is a great thing, of course, but there is one downside that comes along with a season such as the team just observed.

Expectations.

The San Francisco 49ers are now expected to continue this high level of play into the upcoming season and contend for the division. While it is no sure thing that the team will continue to find success against teams now equipped with five weeks of game footage on Jimmy Garoppolo to study, it is certainly possible.

The team has a chance to play at a high level in 2018, but they must improve off of last season. And how do they improve their team? By getting increased production from the new players they brought in this offseason.

While free agents can help a team tremendously, the draft is how team’s really improve long term.  With this in mind, it is essential that the 49ers get production out of their incoming rookies in 2018.

But which rookies can we expect to be impact players right away? Well there are at least three that we think have a great chance of being day one starters. Here are those three players.