The San Francisco 49ers began training camp practices on Wednesday, marking the first time since June that players hit the field with their teammates for a 75-minute practice that involved individual drills, team drills, 7-on-7s, and some 11-on-11s as well.
RELATED 49ers Training Camp Day 1 Breakdown: Defense
As it was the first day of training camp, pads weren't on. They're likely to come on during Monday's practice, however; the exact date is unknown currently.
The 49ers' quarterbacks began practice warming up while taking snaps under center, and the first golden nugget dropped, as offensive lineman Daniell Brunskill lined up as one of the centers, originally taking second-team reps behind veteran Jake Brendel.
Here were the 49ers starters on offense:
LT Colton McKivitz
LG Aaron Banks
C Jake Brendel
RG Spencer Burford
RT Mike McGlinchey
WR Brandon Aiyuk
WR Jauan Jennings
FB Kyle Juszczyk
TE George Kittle
RB Elijah Mitchell
QB Trey Lance
Offense
Quarterbacks
Trey Lance looked good in his first training camp action on Wednesday, completing 9/11 passes during the scrimmage portion of the day, while also looking accurate during drills. Lance didn't really test the deep-ball as much during practice, but went through progressions well, and had a nice, tight spiral to George Kittle on the sideline.
Nate Sudfeld was clearly the better backup of the bunch, and should most definitely claim the backup quarterback spot behind Trey Lance. Sudfeld, 28, was 11/11 during the scrimmage portion of the day, completing the best pass of practice on a 50-yard touchdown pass to Malik Turner on the sideline, getting the ball past cornerback Ambry Thomas.
However, Sudfeld had a few inaccurate throws during individual drills and held the ball too long on a few plays, which didn't matter today because pads weren't on, but will be something to watch as camp progresses.
Brock Purdy completed 4/5 passes during the scrimmage portion of practice, and had his share of ups and downs. Purdy completed a nice pass to tight end Jordan Matthews on a slant, who ran by the third-team defense for a touchdown to end practice. However, Purdy also had some inaccuracies during individual drills at times, and his lack of significant arm strength was definitely apparent when throwing after Lance and Sudfeld.
However, it's Day 1 of Training Camp, and given there weren't pads on and a defensive line keeping consistent pressure, their performances have to be taken with a grain of salt.
Running Backs
While I didn't focus much on the running backs due to the lack of pads, there were some nice plays made by second-year running backs Elijah Mitchell and Trey Sermon, as well as rookie Tyrion-Davis Price.
Mitchell was a factor in the passing attack, catching two passes in the flat on two targets. His activity in the passing game could increase this year after he had 19 catches for 137 yards on 20 targets in 2021. Remember, the 49ers hired Anthony Lynn, who has a propensity for getting the most out of his running backs in the receiving game, as their run-game coordinator.
Davis-Price had the longest rush of any 49er on Wednesday, but most of the focus on running backs will come when pads are put on, which likely comes next week.
Wide Receivers
Top receiver Brandon Aiyuk had four catches on Wednesday, leading receivers, while Jauan Jennings and Ray-Ray McCloud both saw action in the receiving game as well.
Lance hit Aiyuk on a short, comeback pass for their only connection of the day, and hit McCloud on a checkdown as well.
Over minicamp and now training camp, it appears that McCloud is a checkdown favorite, as he's received most of his action in that role out of the slot.
Veteran Malik Turner had the best play of the day, taking a deep pass from Nate Sudfeld to the house while being defended by Ambry Thomas.
Tight Ends
Similar to minicamp, the tight ends saw continued action in the receiving game, as Tanner Hudson, Jordan Matthews, Ross Dwelley, and George Kittle all made catches on Wednesday.
Currently, third-year tight end Charlie Woerner is penciled in as the second tight end on the depth chart; however, Woerner is on the Physically Unable to Play list with a core muscle injury, leaving the door open for several other tights to get extended opportunities and potentially make the roster as the third tight end.
Today was mainly a pass-catching day due to the lack of pads, so we'll see which players shine out when they come on soon.
Offensive Line
The biggest headlines came from the offensive line, as veteran Daniel Brunskill didn't take a single rep at his 2021 location, right guard, and instead was the backup center on Wednesday.
Spencer Burford, the team's fourth-round pick this season, took all of the first-team reps at right guard, while Jake Brendel began the day as the starting center before Brunskill received some work with the starters.
Jaylon Moore, the team's starting right guard during OTAs, didn't see any action at guard, and instead was the backup right tackle to Mike McGlinchey, who started, but was limited in practice.
Due to Trent Williams's excused absence for a personal matter, Colton McKivitz was the first-team left tackle, similar to OTAs, while Aaron Banks slotted in at left guard.
It'll be interesting to monitor the offensive line over the next few weeks as San Francisco experiments where certain players line up and who takes first-team reps.
