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Solomon Thomas is more comfortable playing along the interior of the defensive line, and that's where the San Francisco 49ers hope to keep him this season.
"I prefer playing inside, so I like it,"
Thomas told reporters on Saturday. "I like playing nose. I like playing 3-tech."
If that's where Thomas is more comfortable and more productive, why isn't he there exclusively?
"For Solly, drafting him when we first got here ... you're trying to get your best players on the football field in any capacity possible," defensive coordinator Robert Saleh explained on Sunday. "So, you have [DeForest Buckner] on the inside, you had Arik (Armstead) moved outside, but got some inside work. You had Earl Mitchell early, so you had inside guys.
"But, just trying to get Solly on the football field, on the outside, was the best place that we could put him in terms of maximizing the men we had in that room. Year two, same thing. Just the evolution and the process of trying to bring in the players to make all this stuff work with everything."
The 49ers tried to make more of an effort to keep Thomas inside as much as possible last season, but injuries changed those plans.
"Then last year, coach (Kyle Shanahan) and (general manager) John (Lynch), just a phenomenal job," Saleh continued. "We get Dee Ford, we get Bosa, and we have a chance to play Solly inside more. So, in the first half of the year, he played a lot on the inside, but then injuries happen. Ronnie Blair III goes down. ... We lose a few more players and so Solly's one of our best players.
"We've got to get him on the football field somehow, and the best spot is outside. So, it's been our intent to try to keep him inside as much as possible, but he's such a talented football player that sometimes it's, 'Well, shoot, we've got to get him on the field.'"
Saleh is confident the 49ers are in a better position to utilize Thomas the way they initially intended.
"With what we have now with being able to bring
Kerry Hyder Jr., we have Ronnie coming back from PUP, you've got Dee Ford, you've got Bosa, you have Arik who can play outside, too," Saleh added. "We're doing everything we can to make sure that Solly stays inside at all costs.
"When he is in there, if you look at his tape from a year ago, when he's inside and solely inside, he's a very, very effective football player. Made a lot of plays for us last year inside and so our intent is to try to keep him in there because you're right. That's where he excels the most.
"Hopefully, just by the fact that we have more defensive ends to withstand injury where it takes two, three, four injuries before Solly ever has to step out there. We have a chance to keep him inside for the entire season."
Thomas has endured the criticism that often comes with being a top pick and not boasting gaudy statistics in the years that follow.
"I feel like that will always be on my shoulders, with the label of being the third pick, but I have mentally learned to put that behind me," Thomas said. "That's not what I'm playing for. I'm playing to be the best me, no matter what."
On a team with as much talent as the San Francisco 49ers, there isn't always much space for rookies to carve out an immediate role, let alone be a starter.
That's why it was impressive that rookie Spencer Burford not only shined early, separating himself during organized team activities(OTAs), but took a starting role as a fourth-rounder.
However, Burford split in-season reps with veteran Daniel Brunskill in a season with ups and downs, questioning the 49ers' belief in his play as a rookie.
But, with Brunskill off to the Tennessee Titans in free agency, the path is clear for the UTSA product to carve out an everyday role in a potential breakout season for Burford during his second season.
Speaking with reporters for the first time this
George Kittle was inactive for the first two games of last season due to a groin injury. The San Francisco 49ers tight end averaged under 30 receiving yards in the two games following his return.
The production started to increase from there. The All-Pro tight end felt healthy toward the end of the season, amid a 12-game win streak (including the playoffs). That has carried into this offseason, which is significant for the player who often exits a season feeling the wear and tear on his body.
"It just allowed me to work the way that I wanted to work earlier in the offseason," Kittle told reporters on Tuesday. "Not to take so much time off to rehab and recover, do a bunch of treatments and stuff like that. I was actually just able to get a good foundation in,
The 49ers ended their offseason workout program on Wednesday with their final session of mandatory minicamp. But before they made their way out the door for the summer, the team gave fans and reporters one last dose of info in the form of the final media sessions of the spring.
Among those speaking to reporters on Wednesday were defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, left tackle Trent Williams and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, as well as defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. Each session produced some interesting tidbits, which we'll review in this version of 49ers notebook.
Hargrave speaks
Despite being the splash free agent addition of the offseason for the 49ers, Javon Hargrave had not met with the team's beat reporters in person before Wednesday.
Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus went through all 32 NFL teams and picked a reason for optimism for each heading into the 2023 season. For example, last season's five-win Denver Broncos got a new Super Bowl-winning head coach in Sean Payton. Kenny Pickett could be ready for a second-year leap with the Pittsburgh Steelers (Hopefully, not in Week 1, though).
What's the reason for optimism for the San Francisco 49ers? Sikkema admits that picking just one reason is challenging, so he went with the team's elite roster. San Francisco has stockpiled talented playmakers at almost every level.
"Yes, their quarterback situation is still up in the air," wrote Sikkema. "But
