San Francisco 49ers' Expectations for Marques Sigle in Year 2

Do the 49ers expect Sigle to take a big leap?

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Marques Sigle looked like a revelation when he first came onto the scene for the San Francisco 49ers last season. He started the first seven games of the season, which is hard to do considering he was a fifth-round pick. However, teams eventually saw him as a weak link and picked on him, and he was benched. It is fair to wonder what to expect from Sigle in year two.

Setting expectations for Marques Sigle with the San Francisco 49ers

Since 2012, there have been 17 safeties who were drafted after pick 100, had over 15 tackles, but played fewer than 500 snaps. These players were impressively able to get on the field and produce as rookies, but they also were not breakout rookies who were full-time starters. Sigle fits this.

Of those, 14 of them started more than two games in the following season. It makes sense and is similar to what the 49ers did. The rookie flashed enough, and he is a great enough value that the team did not go out of their way to replace him, but they have another starter in the mix to compete and push them. In those scenarios, both options typically get a chance eventually.

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However, of those 14, only four of them were full-time starters in Year 2. So, the majority of this group is lumped into the same group as Sigle, which is not starting right away, but getting a couple of spot start snaps in year two.

Interestingly enough, seven of them became full-time starters beyond their first couple of seasons. So a few of the players took those spot starts in a year and propelled it into more playing time and a bigger role.

Perhaps the best example that Sigle could follow is Antonio Johnson of the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was picked 171st, right in the range that Sigle went. He only started a couple of games as a rookie, but flashed with two interceptions. Then, he started just eight games in the year, but produced 73 total tackles. Then, in year three, he was highly involved in the defense and produced five interceptions. This year, he looks like a full-time starter once again.

If the 49ers can see that slow and steady progress, it could be a strong career for the pick that they made on Sigle. He will not start to begin the season, but he could be in the mix sooner rather than later.