With four days until the long-awaited super bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, here’s four players you should be looking out for, not named Garropolo or Mahomes.
1. Raheem Mosert , RB, 49ers-On a list bears the names of six different NFL teams. They hold a particular significance for Raheem Mosert, pushing him to press as he reads it before every game. It’s a list of teams that cut him, told him he wasn’t good enough. For two seasons since 2015, he bounced around the league first with the Eagles, then with the Dolphins, followed by stints with the Ravens, Browns, Jets, and Bears, until he landed in San Francisco, where’s he’s been since 2016. Now, as a breakout season comes to a close for the five year NFL veteran, that list only goes to show that no matter what others say, if you have the drive to succeed, you can accomplish your goals, a mantra Mosert has taken on throughout his first full season in the NFL.
After playing sparingly throughout those first three seasons in the Bay, Mosert emerged as a go-to running back for head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad early on in the season, reeling in a 39 yard pass from Jimmy Garropplo in week two for his first touchdown of the season, and second as a 49er. That paved the way for a 16 game season, which included 772 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. In this postseason, he has 278 yards rushing and four TDs. He’ll be the guy the 49ers want to get the ball most, as his sprinters speed has made it hard for defenses to bring him down this season. Especially watch them to get the ball to him on screen passes and on draw plays from under center.
2. Nick Bosa, DE, 49ers- Following in the footsteps of his famous father, John, and brother, Joey, as an NFL defensive end, Nick Bosa has made his mark extremely quick as an NFL rookie, leading the 49ers to a team-high three sacks this season. Having already played on big stages before, as a starter at Ohio State, the Super Bowl's vastness shouldn’t overwhelm him, in fact, it’ll probably energize him. And if you’re a quarterback, that’s the last thing you want. Bosa has an uncanny knack for getting in the backfield, not always making a hit on the quarterback or ball carrier, but at least disrupting the play so his team can get the stop.
3. Damien Williams, RB, Chiefs- If Patrick Mahomes is having an off day in the passing game, this is who head coach Andy Reid and the Chiefs have turned to. Williams has been a force throughout all six of his seasons at the NFL level, playing in at least 11 games every season and rushing for over 100 yards for all except one of them. This season has been no exception, as the former Oklahoma Sooner has played in 11 games, with an astonishing 1,231 yards on the ground and a total of 22 touchdowns. He’s also been effective in the passing game, with 1,106 receiving yards. Like Mosert, he’s picked up the majority of his big plays from screen passes and has a tendency to put his shoulder down and charge ahead, making him a go-to ball carrier in goal line and short yardage situations.
4. Mecole Hardman- It’s hard to think of another rookie on the offensive side of the ball this season whose been as big of a contributor as Hardman. Coming out of Georgia, there were big expectations for the receiver, but he’s easily lived up to them, establishing his place on the Chiefs' offense as the team’s No. 2 receiver behind NFL veteran Sammy Watkins. He says he’s ready to test himself against Richard Sherman, the 49ers star defensive back on Sunday, adding that Sherman was a guy he looked up during his high school days as a cornerback. Now the two will be battling it out, each doing everything possible to help their teams in their attempt for a Super Bowl title.
“He's a great trash talker I heard,” Hardman said as reported by NBC Sports. “So I’m ready to talk a little trash with him out there, try to see if I can get him going, but it’s going to be fun. I’m looking forward to the matchup.”
A great matchup it’ll be indeed, as two of the NFL’s best this season will go head-to-head.
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