By Scooter_McGThe 49ers now have 9 days of camp practices in the books and, courtesy of some of the best local coverage in the NFL, that means we have an abundance of practice reports, tweets, videos and notes to digest. And digest I have; with each report I read I have come away thinking this has been the sort of camp every 49ers fan should be excited about.
While Trey Lance understandably dominates the headlines, the highlights of camp so far have been Brandon Aiyuk and the defense.
Aiyuk was a favourite to be a breakout star this season and so far in camp he has given every indication he is poised to do just that. Almost every day it appears he is making spectacular plays on the ball and giving DBs fits trying to cover him. As Aiyuk continues to make plays, the QBs trust in Aiyuk is increasing and they have been willing to put it up for him to go make a play on the ball, even when he isn't wide open. With the 49ers expected to be a run-oriented offense and Deebo and Kittle also on the roster it may be hard for Aiyuk to put up top tier numbers, but his emergence would give the 49ers three legitimate matchup nightmares for defenses and make it very difficult to shut down the 49ers passing game.
The defense has been an excellent unit for three straight seasons so it comes as no surprise they have looked great in camp. What has been a little surprising though is how the back end has performed. The addition of Charvarius Ward has given the secondary two good coverage defenders on the perimeter, forcing the QBs to try and find open receivers over the middle where arguably the NFL's best coverage LB unit and the safeties led by Jimmie Ward have made life very difficult. With the play of the secondary it could actually be argued the weakest link on the defense is now the DL, and there are 31 other teams in the NFL that would be pretty happy to have the 49ers DL.
The one area that has stood out as a concern through 9 practices is the OL. Trey Lance has been under a lot of pass rush pressure throughout camp. Two areas in particular have stood out as areas of concern along the OL - centre and backup RT. Brendel and Brunskill have been rotating at centre and neither player has risen to the occasion to lock down the spot as yet. At RT, McGlinchey has practiced sparingly as he returns from a serious leg injury. When he's been on the field he has apparently looked very good, but his backup Jaylon Moore has struggled and it has mostly been Moore at RT with the first team unit until his recent lower leg injury. I feel like the 49ers are misusing Moore, who I thought should have been battling it out with Burford for the RG spot.
On the plus side, it looks like Aaron Banks and Spencer Burford have locked down the starting OG positions. Banks has received praise in recent practices as a player that has looked a lot fitter, faster and stronger than last season, and is improving with every practice. Burford meanwhile has been something of a revelation, with some of the coverage even suggesting he has been the best and most consistent OL through the start of camp.
Other observations I have found of interest include:
- Talanoa Hufanga received a lot of praise early in camp and began camp as the starting SS. However, in recent practices Tarvarius Moore has been making a lot of plays and is now being worked in with the 1s as well. This looks to be one of the most hotly contested battles in camp along with centre and slot CB.
- Speaking of slot CB, that's one position group that I haven't seen a lot of reports about. However, as far as I can glean it would appear that Sam Womack is very much in the thick of the battle there and has not looked out of place.
- It also sounds like the 49ers may use more 3 LB looks this year, with Warner, Greenlaw and Al-Shaair on the field together a lot in camp so far from what I have understood. That's one of the benefits of having three athletic LBs that excel in coverage.
- Elijah Mitchell is the undisputed starter at RB and has practiced like it, but Tyrion Davis-Price has looked very good since the pads went on. TDP has shown excellent strength and power, as was expected, but has received praise for his quickness and vision over the past few days as well. TDP has even been getting reps with the 1s and looks like he has solidified his position as RB2.
- Trey Sermon and Jordan Mason have also been singled out for praise as players that are making the most of their opportunities. If they are both able to continue their strong start to camp, Jeff Wilson and JaMycal Hasty may struggle to find a spot on the 53.
- Ambry Thomas has not picked up where he left off last season. He's getting targeted a lot by the QBs and for the most part those passes have found their mark. Some of it isn't the fault of Thomas and has just been very well placed balls against solid coverage, but some of it has been as a result of flat out getting beat.
- Dropped passes have been an issue throughout camp. This is one area the 49ers skill position players need to do a better job to help their young QB out. Drops will happen, but they can't be happening during the season at the rate they have been in practice.
- Drake Jackson started of camp slow, but since the pads went on he has consistently put out strong showings, displaying his combination of speed, agility and power. Like TDP, Jackson has been getting some reps with the 1s and looks like he is solidifying his spot in the rotation at edge. With Burford looking set to start at RG, and Womack in the thick of the battle at slot CB, the 49ers may see some decent early returns from this draft class.
- Danny Gray has mostly struggled so far in camp, and not had much success beating DBs with his speed. But day 6 of camp was Danny Gray day. He showed in that one day what the 49ers saw in him. He clearly needs some development time but the potential is there if he puts the work in.
