5 49ers Poised for Better Play After Bye Week

These players need to step up.

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Now that the San Francisco 49ers are at their bye week, it is a good chance for some players to reset their bodies and minds and get ready for a strong end of the season. Which players on the roster are poised to play better in the second half than they did in the first half?

5 San Francisco Players Expected to Perform Better After Bye Week

Jordan Watkins 

Watkins started to come along in the two weeks prior to the bye week. He has 184 career snaps in one and a half seasons. Of those, 97 were in the past two weeks. He has eight career catches for 164 yards. He has four catches for 78 yards in the past two weeks.

San Francisco might get healthier at the bye week. That could push Watkins down a bit. However, the team has to find ways to keep him on the field because he is young and talented.

Osa Odighizuwa

Odighizuwa has two sacks in seven games, so is already pacing toward his career-high of 4.5 sacks. However, with DeForest Buckner in the picture, life should get a lot easier for him. He should play fewer snaps and be more impactful when he does play. Look for at least three more sacks this year. 

Ephesians Prysock 

The rookie made his defensive debut with two snaps in Week 7. Now, the team has cut Jack Jones, leaving a role open for dime snaps. When San Francisco wants to push Deommodore Lenoir in the slot, it likely means Prysock coming in on the outside now. This will be a lot more on his plate.

Mykel Williams 

Williams returned from his ACL injury in Week 5. He went from 23 snaps in his debut to 30 the following week and then 33 the game after that. Now, he gets a bye week to regroup and reassess where he stands. 

Williams should come out of the bye week healthy with a better group of players around him. He should finish the year strong.

Malik Mustapha

Mustapha started the season on the bench. The third-year safety has three starts this season. However, he had 22 career starts before that. So, now that he is back in the lineup and playing well, it is going to be hard to pull him. They might bench Ji’Ayir Brown when Marques Sigle is healthy and roll with Sigle.