Countdown to Kickoff: Profile on San Francisco 49ers No. 53 NaVorro Bowman
The Countdown to Kickoff series continues on with a look at San Francisco 49ers star linebacker NaVorro Bowman.
There are exactly 53 days until the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers open up the 2016 NFL regular season with a Super Bowl rematch. In the meantime, we at NFL Spin Zone are going to profile a player each day as we countdown the days to kickoff.
The Countdown to Kickoff series began with a look at No. 99 Joey Bosa and has continued on everyday since (check out all of the posts here).
Related Story: 2017 NFL Mock Draft
There were plenty of strong players to choose at number 53, including center Maurkice Pouncey and linebackers Malcolm Smith and Nigel Bradham, but I decided to go with a more established impact linebacker.
Let’s take a look at San Francisco 49ers star linebacker NaVorro Bowman.
Bowman is one of the most talented and has been one of the most productive linebackers in the NFL in recent years. Bowman missed the entire 2014 season with a torn ACL and MCL suffered in the NFC Championship Game the prior season.
More from San Francisco 49ers
- 49ers 7th-round pick turning out to be an absolute NFL Draft steal
- San Francisco 49ers almost did the unthinkable in 2022
- 3 reasons why Trey Lance could be labeled a bust after 2023
- The San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback situation is exhausting
- Sam Darnold could be the diamond in the rough for the 49ers
Bowman return to the field successfully in 2015, taking home first-team All-Pro honors for his play. While Bowman’s knee injury made him a step slower in coverage, he is still an absolute force against the run, leading the NFL with 154 tackles last season.
Through his six-year NFL career, Bowman has been a first-team All-Pro selection four times. The only years where Bowman was not selected as a first-team All-Pro linebacker was his rookie season of 2010 (where he only started one game), and in 2014 when he missed the entire season with his knee injury.
Simply put, Bowman is among the best players in the NFL at his position, and at 28-years-old, he appears to have plenty of successful days ahead of him.
More from NFL Spin Zone
- Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
- Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
- Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
- Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
- Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens
The 49ers are not exactly expected to be among the most competitive teams in 2016. Despite Bowman’s impressive return from injury, the 5-11 49ers finished in last place in the NFC West last season. The 49ers fired head coach Jim Tomsula and hired Chip Kelly to help turn around their fortunes.
That being said, personnel-wise, the 49ers will trot out an extremely similar team as they did last season. With a lot of the same players returning from a 5-11 team that scored the fewest points in the entire league (14.9 points per game) and allowed the 29th most yards (387.4 per game), it is hard to envision the 49ers making a big-time turn-around.
However, Bowman will likely continue being one of the lone bright spots on the 49ers’ less than stellar defense. Another year removed from his devastating knee injury, Bowman’s speed and explosiveness should start to find its way back.
must read NFL: Ranking the top RBs in 2017 NFL Draft
Bowman was obviously great last season, but being another year removed from surgery, expect his ability in coverage to only get better.
The 49ers’ defense is a bit of a mess, but they undoubtedly have one of the best in the business leading the way in the middle. As usual, expect Bowman to be a dominant force for the 49ers in 2016.