Although the San Francisco 49ers have lost a lot of players this offseason, most positions have natural replacements already in place.
Brandon Thomas is the favorite to take over from Mike Iupati at left guard. Michael Wilhoite and NaVorro Bowman are almost guaranteed to start the season at middle linebacker. Justin Smith and Ray McDonald will be replaced by rotations rather than any one player. The question isn’t who will play so much as how they will play.
The one exception to that is at cornerback. With last year’s starters, Chris Culliver and Perrish Cox, both gone, there’s a definite void at the top of the roster, and there aren’t two players who seem like locks to take the spots.