49ers 53-man roster projection 3.0: Early training camp update
It’s still early in training camp for the 49ers, and no firm decisions have been made by the coaching staff on any of the key roster battles.
However, enough has happened through the first six practices that our 53-man roster projections got a little bit of a tweak at a handful of positions.
Let’s take a look at our third 53-man roster projection with some early camp updates on our pre-camp prediction (Rookies are noted with an asterisk):
Quarterback (3)
Brock Purdy
Trey Lance
Sam Darnold
There are rumblings San Francisco could keep Brandon Allen and carry all four quarterback on their roster. That would make things extremely tight at some other positions where the 49ers could really use some additional depth.
Cuts: Brandon Allen
Running back (4)
Christian McCaffrey
Elijah Mitchell
Tyrion Davis-Price
Jordan Mason
Davis-Price’s inclusion is the change here. He looked destined to follow the Trey Sermon route out of Santa Clara before his second year with the team, but a strong showing early in camp has him firmly grasping a 53-man spot.
Cuts: Khalan Laborn*, Ronald Awatt*
Fullback (1)
You know the drill.
Cuts: Jack Colletto*
Wide receiver (5)
Deebo Samuel
Brandon Aiyuk
Jauan Jennings
Ray-Ray McCloud
Danny Gray
This group is still a major toss-up. Gray gets the nod over rookie seventh-round pick Ronnie Bell thanks to some developments elsewhere on the roster. If Gray can show even marginal improvement through camp this year the 49ers have every reason to hang on to him.
Cuts: Ronnie Bell*, Chris Conley, Willie Snead, Tay Martin, Dazz Newsome, Isaiah Winstead*
Tight end (4)
George Kittle
Charlie Woerner
Ross Dwelley
Cameron Latu*
There aren’t any changes to this group yet. We’ll still lean toward the team keeping an additional veteran and one rookie over two rookies.
Cuts: Brayden Willis*, Troy Fumagalli
Offensive line (9)
Trent Williams
Aaron Banks
Jake Brendel
Spencer Burford
Colton McKivitz
Jaylon Moore
Jon Feliciano
Matt Pryor
Nick Zakelj
Zakelj sticks around because he’s perhaps their best additional interior OL option. It wouldn’t be a huge shock if San Francisco only kept eight OL on the 53-man roster to add an additional player elsewhere.
Cuts: Jason Poe, Ilm Manning*, Joey Fisher*, Keith Ismael, Corey Luciano*
Defensive line (10)
Nick Bosa
Arik Armstead
Javon Hargrave
Drake Jackson
Javon Kinlaw
Kerry Hyder
Clelin Ferrell
Austin Bryant
Kevin Givens
T.Y. McGill
The 49ers are dealing with some injury issues at defensive end, and Bosa is still holding out. They brought in veteran Taco Charlton for Day 6 of camp. He hasn’t played enough to break through, so Hyder slides into a more prominent DE role here while McGill gets into the interior DL rotation. Having a player or two emerge as a reliable DE could shift the calculus here.
Cuts: Robert Beal Jr.*, Alex Barrett, Daryl Johnson, Taco Charlton, Spencer Waege*, Kalia Davis, Marlon Davidson
Linebacker (5)
Fred Warner
Dre Greenlaw
Marcelino McCrary-Ball
Oren Burks
Dee Winters*
Winters gets the nod over fellow rookie Jalen Graham. There’s still too many things to play out to have any real certainty at LB. The fact Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles hasn’t gotten to work with the starters isn’t a great sign for him early on. This entire group beyond Warner and Greenlaw is in flux.
Cuts: Jalen Graham*, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, Curtis Robinson, Kyahva Tezino
Cornerback (5)
Charvarius Ward
Deommodore Lenoir
Isaiah Oliver
Samuel Womack
D’Shawn Jamison*
Jamison gets the nod over Ambry Thomas thanks in part to some praise from WR Brandon Aiyuk and general manager John Lynch. However, his return skills make him a potentially valuable asset beyond what he brings as a defender. If the team is comfortable with him on special teams it’s easy to see the UDFA sneaking onto the back end of the roster, especially if Ambry Thomas struggles.
Cuts: Ambry Thomas, Terrance Mitchell, Qwuantrezz Knight, AJ Parker
Safety (4)
Talanoa Hufanga
Tashaun Gipson
Ji’Ayir Brown*
George Odum
No changes to the safety group for now. Myles Hartsfield remains a player to watch, especially in preseason games to see if he’s deployed anywhere other than one of the safety spots.
Cuts: Myles Hartsfield, Tayler Hawkins
Specialists (3)
Jake Moody*
Mitch Wishnowsky
Taybor Pepper
Moody is crushing it in camp.
Cuts: Zane Gonzalez
