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San Francisco 49ers

Second-year fullback Marc Edwards will have to do more than just block for Garrison Hearst if he is to replace the departed William Floyd, a key player in the short passing game. Edwards had six grabs last year and never caught more than 25 passes in a season in college.... Expectations run high for wideout Ryan Thelwell, a seventh-rounder out of Minnesota who had a school-record 1,051 receiving yards in '96 but was academically ineligible to play as a senior. Says director of football operations Dwight Clark, "He's got some developing to do, but he's very dangerous after the catch." ... Hearst helped the once rush-challenged Niners run for 100-plus yards in 10 of the 13 games in which he played.

—by Richard Deutsch

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