Four key starters 49ers need healthy this season

SANTA CLARA - Privately, the 49ers feel they’re an elite team.

They believe they have the talent and depth to beat any team they play for the first time since Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch joined the organization in 2017. This belief is why they drafted a punter in the fourth round this year. They felt other rookies would struggle to make their final roster because it’s vastly improved.

Anything less than a playoff appearance would be a major disappointment for the 49ers.

And yet, despite all the talent and depth they have acquired since 2017, their success next season may depend on just four key starters coming off catastrophic leg injuries: running back Jerick McKinnon (torn ACL), cornerback Jason Verrett (torn Achilles), linebacker Kwon Alexander, (torn ACL) and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (torn ACL).

The 49ers need all four of them to compete at the ?highest level. Here are the questions each player faces heading into training camp:

1. Will McKinnon be the starter when he returns?

McKinnon wasn’t a full-time starter when he played for the Minnesota Vikings the first-four years of his career. He was a change-of-pace back. Never rushed for more than 570 yards in a season. Then, in 2018, the 49ers gave him a four-year, $30 million contract to be their starter.

McKinnon is relatively small - 5-foot-9, 205 pounds - so he spent the 2018 offseason bulking up and preparing his body for the increased workload. As he prepared, he tore his ACL just before the regular season. Now, he may never regain the speed and quickness that made him appealing to the 49ers. And he may lose his starting job.

This offseason, the 49ers signed running back Tevin Coleman, who started 14 games for the Atlanta Falcons in 2018. He also played for Shanahan in 2015 and 2016 when Shanahan was the Falcons offensive coordinator.

The 49ers have another starting running back in case McKinnon doesn’t fully recover although, like McKinnnon, Coleman is relatively small for the position.

“This is the business part, and I’m confident in what I can do,” McKinnon said during OTAs. “People can speculate and have their own opinions, but no one has been here rehabbing with me, so they don’t know what I’ve been doing.”

McKinnon spent all of OTAs and minicamp rehabbing. The 49ers hope he’ll be ready for training camp. But, once he returns, he’ll have to compete for playing time with three other running backs: Matt Breida, Raheem Mostert and Coleman.

Despite their many running backs, the 49ers will not be as dynamic if McKinnon can’t play the way he used to.

2. Will Verrett stay healthy long enough to make the final roster?

One of the 49ers’ biggest weaknesses last season was cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, who intercepted no passes, broke up only four and allowed a whopping seven touchdown catches in just 14 games. He dragged down the entire defense.

To improve the secondary, the 49ers signed veteran Jason Verrett, a former first-round pick who spent the first five seasons of his career with the Chargers.

“He’s going to compete at corner,” defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said during OTAs. “When Verrett is healthy, he’s one of the top 20 corners in all of football. I mean, the guy is special.”

Verrett went to the Pro Bowl in 2015 after starting 14 games and intercepting three passes. The rest of his career, he has played only 11 games in four seasons. In 2016, he tore his ACL and missed 12 games. Then, in 2017, he reinjured his ACL and missed 15 games. And in 2018, he tore his Achilles on the first day of training camp. Now, he’s 28. Before he can help the 49ers’ secondary, he has to make it through training camp.

“My health is pretty much everything,” Verrett said. “I’m on track to be exactly where I want to be.”

3. Will Kwon Alexander run as fast as he did pre-injury?

The 49ers signed Alexander for his speed.

“Speed and violence affect the quarterback and make people do stupid things,” Shanahan said when the 49ers signed linebacker Alexander in March. “This guy has a lot of speed and plays very violently.”

Alexander ran a blazing 4.55 40-yard dash while weighing 227 pounds at the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine. Every season, he ranks among the league leaders in tackles AND missed tackles. He gets to the ball carrier quickly, but sometimes doesn’t complete the play. Also, he’s very fast.

Or, he used to be very fast.

Alexander tore his ACL in Week 6 last season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. When he arrives at training camp, he may no longer run a 4.55. He may run slower, meaning he may not be the playmaker the 49ers thought they signed.

“The good news with a guy like Kwon is he has an ACL,” Lynch said. “Those things get better. We had a physical that was very thorough, and our doctors came out feeling good about it. We vetted it thoroughly, and we felt comfortable with it.”

4. Will Jimmy Garoppolo stand tall in the face of pressure?

Tuesday during a phone interview with reporters from around the country, Garoppolo made an announcement: “I’m good to go. Finally.”

Garoppolo tore his left ACL nine months ago. This offseason, as he rehabbed throughout OTAs and minicamp, he participated in seven-on-seven drills. But, the 49ers wouldn’t let him play in full-team scrimmages. They were cautious with him.

“We haven’t had any setbacks,” Garoppolo said. “OTAs went about as well as I could have hoped, and now for training camp hopefully we’ll be full go with team drills. We’re moving in the right direction.”

Garoppolo won’t face a live pass rush until preseason - defensive players aren’t allowed to touch the quarterback during training camp.

Is he mentally ready to take big hits?

Last season, he didn’t handle pressure particularly well. He got sacked 13 times in three games. Some of those sacks were his fault, because he froze in the face of pressure. And when he didn’t get sacked, he often spun away from defenders instead of standing still and stepping into the throw while taking a hit.

Now, Garoppolo’s plant leg has a surgically-repaired knee. Next season, will he be even more reluctant to step into pressure?

“There’s a lot of rust when you come back,” quarterbacks coach Shane Day said during OTAs. “You’re always managing the injury psychologically. Physically, all signs might be go. But, until you get in there and test it, you’re not really sure.”

Meaning Garoppolo still must prove he’s fit to play.

“The mental part is the first step,” Garoppolo said. “Once the bullets start flying, then we’ll really see.”

Get ready, incoming flak just across the line.