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Which 49ers Player is the Likeliest to Step up in 2025?

There are a handful of candidates on the 49ers who will need to step in 2025 to make up for all the departed players this offseason.

Jose Luis Sanchez III

Oct 27, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers safety Malik Mustapha (6) celebrates after Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (not pictured) pass is incomplete during the third quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images
Oct 27, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers safety Malik Mustapha (6) celebrates after Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (not pictured) pass is incomplete during the third quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images / Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images
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2025 will be the season of opportunity for the 49ers.

With so many players departed in free agency, there are a handful of candidates on the 49ers who will need to step up. They need to make up for their losses.

The 49ers are banking on these players along with the rookies they will draft in a little over a month from now. Pro Football Network believes it will be Malik Mustapha.

Here is their explanation for choosing him.

"Safety Malik Mustapha showed that he has star potential during his rookie season. Mustapha, a fourth-round selection in last year’s draft, far exceeded expectations in Year 1. He started 12 games and registered 71 tackles, two tackles for loss, one interception, and five pass breakups. He played 728 snaps in 2024, but he stands to have even more opportunities next season."

It's difficult to argue against picking Mustapha. I fully expect him to be a solid player next season and build upon his promising rookie campaign.

However, I'm going in another direction. I don't have Mustapha as the likeliest 49ers player to step up because he already did that in 2024.

He is expected to be that cornerstone player now, so it's not surprising to see him take a leap. It's execpted at this point because he stepped up his rookie year when no one saw it coming.

The player I think that will step up is linebacker Dee Winters. He stands to gain the most out of all players who need to fill in for the departed free agents.

The 49ers need a new partner in crime with Fred Warner now that Dre Greenlaw is with the Broncos. Winters has to be that guy to do it.

It's unlikely going to be any rookie they draft in a month from now. It has to be Winters who can thrive under defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.

He showed a lot of promise and some improvement last season. If it wasn't for the force feeding of De'Vondre Campbell, Winters would have gotten adequate experience.

Also, remember that Warner was high on Winters after OTAs last year. He likes what he sees out of Winters and isn't one to bestow empty praise.

Winters has the primetime opportunity to step up. It'll be nearly impossible to replace the emotions that Greenlaw had, but he can get fairly close to the production.

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Jose Luis Sanchez III
JOSE LUIS SANCHEZ III

Jose Luis Sanchez III has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily for FanNation since 2019. He started off as the lead publisher for FanNation's All49ers, then switched positions to become the Deputy Editor in 2020. Sanchez writes, edits, and produces videos daily for All49ers. He also co-hosts a show on YouTube with All49ers lead publisher Grant Cohn weekly. Prior to FanNation, Sanchez started his writing career back in 2016 for the school newspaper at Skyline college where he covered all sports team in the Bay Area. Following that from 2017 to 2019, he found a role as a contributor for FanSided's news desk along with their site's Just Blog Baby covering the Las Vegas Raiders and Golden Gate Sports every professional Bay Area sports team. Atop all of that, he was able to graduate with a Bachelors degree in Communication Studies at San Francisco State University in 2020. Sanchez is committed to ensuring he delivers transparent analysis and straightforward opinions that resonates with readers to get them thinking.

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