Top 49ers Training Camp Storylines to Track
The rookies report to training camp on July 18th.
A 90 man roster.
15 rookies, 7 being undrafted.
A 53 man roster by August 30th.
A lot can happen during training camp.
Position battles. Guys show up out of shape. Guys show up in the best shape of their life. Breakout players emerge after a strong offseason. Injuries lead to jobs getting taken.
Or not much can happen and you roll into the season with only a couple fringe roster spots.
A fascinating time in the NFL calendar.
Below is a personal depth chart I'm keeping.
There will be more color coding to come, but for now:
Red = known injury coming into camp
Grey = personal roster lock
The 49ers do currently have a full 90 man roster.
I personally have 41 current roster locks. I only looked at the players, not positions. Obviously the 49ers will keep more than 3 WRs, but I only feel confident in those three specific players making the roster.
With that said, let's discuss some storylines that I think will be relevant in training camp and leading up to Week 1.
We'll talk about the roster, position battles, and maybe even position changes.
Wide Receiver Battle
I had 3 locks at this position: Mike Evans, Ricky Pearsall, and De'Zhaun Stribling.
They will likely keep six receivers.
However, usually at least one, if not two receivers can contribute to special teams.
The notable guys here have not shown they can do such a thing, with those players being: Evans, Pearsall, Stribling, Christian Kirk, Demarcus Robinson, Jacob Cowing, and Jordan Watkins.
Kirk was a punt returner early in his career, but has not done so in 2 seasons and is nearly 30 years old. He is not a special teamer.
Nor is Demarcus Robinson.
Cowing, a 2024 4th round pick, did return 28 punts as a rookie, to little degrees of success. He rarely did so in college.
2025 4th round pick Jordan Watkins did return punts in college, but that was over 2 years ago.
My best bet is the 49ers keep 6 WRs, and Watkins and Cowing compete for the punt returner job.
The 49ers have 7 notable WRs rostered. And again, I will be shocked if they keep all seven, because multiple are not contributing to special teams.
Christian Kirk signed a 1 year deal this offseason. It is incentive laden but has a base of $3m and $2.78m in guarantees. That's no cheap contract.
Demarcus Robinson signed a 2 year deal last offseason and, according to overthecap.com, still has $2m guaranteed remaining.
Simply because Kirk was signed this offseason, I would lean towards him being kept. And unless Cowing and Watkins have disaster camps, I would be surprised to see them go.
So, in my eyes, Wild Card hero Demarcus Robinson is on the outs.
We will see if Kirk or Robinson can separate themselves to land a job.
Can Cowing and Watkins come in strong and solidify their roster spot?
And after that, who is WR3, likely in the slot, next to Evans and Pearsall? While I default to Kirk, I guarantee the 49ers would love to see one of the young WRs take that job.
Left Guard Battle:
The 49ers have four out of five offensive line spots solidified. They even have their swing tackle locked up.
But who will start at left guard?
There are four options.
2025 7th round pick Connor Colby made 6 starts last year. There were clear issues, so much so that the 49ers made a move rare for them; they went out and signed veterans with experience.
Robert Jones missed 2025 with a neck issue, but started 17 games for Mike McDaniel's Dolphins and 2024, and has 30 career starts. An experienced scheme fit.
Brett Toth has not played in a Shanahan type scheme before, but has experience at LG and Center. John Lynch did say they believe Toth's best position is center. I would bet they prefer Toth to be a full-time backup center, and not risk an injury to their second best center option by starting him at LG.
I did a review of Jones and Toth that you can find here.
Finally, rookie Carver Willis could be in play. While I do not expect the college OT to start Week 1, you never know.
Connor Colby landed starts due to injury. In 2024 training camp, veteran RG Jon Feliciano went down, allowing Dominick Puni to take over, and he's never looked back, starting 34/34 games in his career.
I would even say it's not unlikely one of the four, not Carver, could get released!
But we will get a glimpse of who the 49ers envision as their starting LG once veterans report to camp on the 25th, and we shall see if they can hold on to their spot.
Starting Safety:
Safeties with NFL experience on the 49ers roster(defensive snaps):
Malik Mustapha - 28 games, 1454 snaps
Ji'Ayir Brown - 49 games, 2082 snaps
Marques Sigle - 15 games, 387 snaps
Ashtyn Davis - 84 games, 2352 snaps
I think this will be the four to make the roster, if they keep four safeties.
Mustapha had a strong rookie year in 2024 that unfortunately ended with an ACL tear. This took away his first true offseason as an NFL player, and it clearly effected Mustapha when he returned in Week 6.
He still played fairly well and has the potential to grow. I expect Mustapha to be slotted in as a starter.
Sigle got the nod early last year, but ended up sitting when Mustapha returned. Sigle has speed and is a strong tackler, even in the open-field. He is just poor at the catch point.
Brown is not bad, but I believe he's better in the box. I posted a thread on Twitter breaking down Brown's play back in March.
And while Davis has performed well at points in his career, he's more of a special teamer.
So there might be a legitimate shot for 2025 UDFA Derrick Canteen and 2026 UDFA Jalen Stroman to make the roster.
But who is starting next to Mustapha?
My guess is the 49ers want Sigle to be the guy. And they've repeatedly shown confidence in Ji'Ayir Brown.
But let me introduce another potential idea: Slot corner Upton Stout.
Stout played every spot in the secondary when he was at Western Kentucky. Naturally, with his 5'9, 180lb frame and ability to defend the run, he found himself in the slot when he got to the NFL.
I will not rant about this idea at the moment, but Raheem Morris also brought up this idea around Stout playing different "roles" in a press conference back in OTAs.
It will be interesting to monitor who gets the first reps next to Mustapha in training camp. And safety is the one position I am almost positive will not be consistent throughout the season. So who is the go to guy off the bench?
And, if they do feel comfortable with Stout back there, do they keep four safeties?
The second starting spot is available, as is the last potential safety spot. Let's see how it plays out.
Smaller Battles:
RB2:
Jordan James was a 5th round pick last year. He was stuck behind Brian Robinson and obviously Christian McCaffrey on the depth chart, and only saw 7 touches, all in a blowout Divisional Round game.
Kaelon Black was a 3rd round pick this year, coming into the NFL at 24 years old.
Both should make the roster.
And you would expect the 49ers to supplement McCaffrey more this season, as he is now 30 years old and coming off a 440 touch season. Shanahan felt the need to have McCaffrey on the field constantly because the 49ers had no better option, even in the passing game. That should not be the case this year.
His touches should sit closer to 300 this season(18 a game).
So who is the go-to back to take those carries?
I bet the answer is determined during the preseason.
QB3:
There have only been 3 years in the Kyle Shanahan era where the 49ers enter the season without a 3rd QB on the roster.
Kurtis Rourke was a 7th round pick in 2025 who missed the entire season recovering from a January ACL tear.
Adrian Martinez was undrafted in 2023 and has bounced around practice squads, primarily the Jets and 49ers.
He is clearly well liked in NFL circles.
Both should see serious preseason action. There is a chance the 49ers only keep Brock Purdy and Mac Jones on the roster, as they did in 2025.
I could see a scenario where the 49ers like both QBs, and still release both, hoping at least one makes it to the practice squad. But if you like a guy, you should keep him.
Regardless of whether or not QB3 makes the roster, they will be around for gamedays, so this is a legitimate battle.
Roster Fringe:
DB Room:
We talked about the safeties already.
But the DB room as a whole is relevant because, as I mentioned, keeping just three safeties is a real possibility.
I have 7 DBs as locks:
Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green, Upton Stout, Ephysians Prysock, Malik Mustapha, Ji'Aiyir Brown, and Marques Sigle.
10 are likely to be kept.
And Nate Hobbs signed to a $3.1m guaranteed contract, so you can probably lock him in too.
Sigle is the only one with legitimate special teams talent. Prysock is a rookie, but has no experience. Brown can play, but is not great.
Here are the obvious battles that I see:
CB6: Darrell Luter (2023 draft pick and special teamer) vs Jack Jones (FA addition with great playmaking ability, little special teams experience).
Safety 4: Ashtyn Davis vs Siran Neal (more of a CB, but he's a special teamer).
Special teams win out more than you may think.
LB Room:
I already have 5 locks at LB.
Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw are starting. Luke Gifford signed a 2 year deal, he's a special teams ace. Tatum Bethune is seemingly locked into the backup MIKE role. And Jaden Dugger was a draft pick.
At most, the 49ers keep six. Maybe Raheem Morris changes this? Perhaps expanding to more five man fronts, a role Dugger could step into, allows for a seventh?
The battle is really 2025 3rd round pick Nick Martin against veteran Garret Wallow.
Wallow was picked up in December by San Francisco and played well in relief. He's a solid special teamer and was not bad in his time at WILL.
I find it hard to believe the 49ers would throw away a 3rd round pick just 16 months later in favor of a practice squadder, but you never know.
Maybe they don't love the idea of the backups to Dre Greenlaw being two guys who have a combined 15 defensive snaps in the NFL, in Dugger and Martin.
Defensive Line Room:
I have 8 locks here.
Nick Bosa, Osa Odighizuwa, Alfred Collins, and Mykel Williams(when healthy) fill out the starting unit. Sam Okuayinonu, C.J. West, Gracen Halten, and Romello Height back them up.
Midseason trade acquisition Keion White seems to have a good shot, especially considering the lack of competition that was added.
Nine to ten defensive linemen will be kept. The question is at which spots.
There are currently 4 DTs, but two are second year guys and one is a rookie. But also, Williams (and White) play nearly a third of their snaps from the interior, because that's where their pass rush is better displayed.
Now, the other DT options are also inexperienced.
2024 UDFA Evan Anderson got some run(267 snaps) as a rookie, while 2025 UDFA Sebastian Valdez has not played a snap. And neither have 2026 UDFAs Bryson Eason and James Thompson, obviously.
Meanwhile, on the edge, there are defensive ends in Williams (and White) who aren't full time on the outside. Leaving just Bosa and Okuayinonu on the outside, plus Romello Height. But Height is a 240lb rookie. He's a pass rusher, not a full-time player.
It will be interesting to see who else gets the nod on the defensive line. Or is it just my 8 locks, plus White?
Since I have so many locks, I figure I might as well throw out an early 53 man roster prediction. At least one more of these, probably two, to come:
QB:
Purdy-Jones
RB:
McCaffrey-James-Black-Taylor Jr
FB:
Juszczyk
WR:
Evans-Pearsall-Stribling-Kirk-Cowing-Watkins
TE:
Kittle-Tonges-Farrell
OT:
Williams-McKivitz-Lowe
OG:
Puni-Jones-Willis-Colby
C:
Brendel-Toth
DE:
Bosa-Okuayinonu-Height-White-Sample (Williams starts on PUP)
DT:
Odighizuwa-Collins-West-Halten
LB:
Warner-Greenlaw-Gifford-Bethune-Dugger-Martin
CB:
Lenoir-Green-Stout-Prysock-Hobbs-Luter
S:
Mustapha-Sigle-Brown-Davis
ST:
Pineiro-Weeks-Waitman
Let me know what you're watching for heading into training camp!
Did I miss something, or do you disagree with one of my takes?
Football is back, folks.
Enjoy the show.
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