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The San Francisco 49ers held four training camp practices last week, marking up the beginning of their final offseason phase.
RELATED: Full Recap of 49ers Training Camp Week 1: Defense
Here's a recap of what I saw and the initial review of every position group on the offense.
Quarterbacks
Second-year quarterback Trey Lance was at the forefront of the action, throwing in all four training camp practices with the starting unit.
Lance started training camp 9/11 on Wednesday, albeit with an offensive install package that mainly featured shorter throws.
On Thursday and Friday, as the 49ers ramped up their install, looking to push the ball more downfield, Lance struggled a little more, throwing 9/24 with two interceptions across the two periods, however; a few of Lance's deep passes were nice balls from the quarterback, but the defense made great plays on the ball.
Saturday was Lance's strongest day, throwing 8/15 with an interception and two dropped passes. Lance completed an array of deep passes, including a perfectly-placed 50-yard pass to receiver
Brandon Aiyuk over the leaping
Charvarius Ward.
Nate Sudfeld initially looked good during the install featuring shorter passes, but struggled with his deep accuracy over the last few sessions.
Brock Purdy had good accuracy and pocket presence with the third-team offense, but his lack of arm strength is clearly apparent when attempting intermediate and deeper throws. He's a likely practice-squad candidate.
Running Backs
Elijah Mitchell continues to take a majority of the first-team reps, while Trey Sermon and Jeff Wilson Jr. got a few reps themselves.
The running back group struggled on the first two days of practice, but benefitted from the return of left tackle
Trent Williams and right tackle Mike McGlinchey, and broke through for a few good runs.
In walkthroughs on Saturday, the top-four running
backs were Elijah Mitchell, Trey Sermon, Jeff Wilson Jr. and
Tyrion Davis-Price.
Wide Receivers
Top receiver Brandon Aiyuk initially struggled to win against top cornerbacks Charvarius Ward and Brandon Aiyuk, but continuously won against every other cornerback on the roster.
On Saturday, Aiyuk was the best player on the field, making an array of contested catches, including the 50-yarder over Ward.
Receivers
Ray-Ray McCloud and
Jauan Jennings have seen significant run without
Deebo Samuel, each earning a number of targets so far, with the latter lining up both inside and outside. They're appearing to form a promising duo out of the slot in 2022.
Rookie receiver Danny Gray has initially struggled with his route-running, especially against the second-team defense, failing to separate from cornerbacks
Deommodore Lenoir and
Ambry Thomas on different plays, despite his blazing speed. Gray did torch third-team cornerback Ka'Darr Hollman for a 45-yard touchdown catch earlier in the week.
Tight Ends
George Kittle has gotten a number of catches to begin training camp, including a nice 27-yard deep pass from Trey Lance with safety Tarvarius Moore in coverage on Saturday.
Jordan Matthews has been the second-best tight end on the field in training camp with
Charlie Woerner on the Physically Unable to Play(PUP) list, as the former-receiver-turned-tight-end has caught a pass in almost every practice, and has exhibited nice route-running and movement for his size.
Offensive Line
The offensive line initially struggled with
Jaylon Moore and
Colton McKivitz at the tackle positions over the first three practices.
However, both pass protection and run-blocking improved on Saturday, when Williams and McGlinchey returned, showing some optimism ahead of the first padded practice on Monday.
Second-year guard
Aaron Banks has looked good on the left side, as he was the best offensive lineman, in my opinion, over the first two practices.
Centers
Jake Brendel and Daniel Brunskill have split first-team reps up to date, but the latter took the majority of first-team reps on Saturday and looked good in both run-blocking and pass-protection after initially struggling to begin camp.
It appears the 49ers want Brunskill to start at center, as he was seen working with Lance after practice on Saturday.
Currently, the only question is rookie right guard
Spencer Burford, who's had his ups-and-downs, while taking all of the first-team reps.
He hasn't faced any competition at the spot yet, as rookie
Nick Zakelj was the second-team right guard, but was relegated to the third-team offensive line for center/guard Keaton Southerland, who likely won't make the team.
Will Jaylon Moore push Spencer Burford for reps at guard after taking all of the first-team reps at the position in minicamp? Or will Burford remain the clear-cut favorite at right guard as pads come on?
Those are questions that will begin to get answered during Monday's practice, which will feature pads for the first time this offseason.
The San Francisco 49ers will hold a mandatory minicamp from June 4 through 6, officially concluding the team's offseason program. After that, the Niners will break for over a month and return to the Santa Clara facilities for training camp in late July.
Between that time, starting quarterbacks will often organize throwing sessions with their receivers in an effort to build chemistry ahead of the rigors of training camp. 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has been unable to participate in such sessions over the last two years. The last overall draft pick in 2022, Purdy had yet to make a name for himself during his first offseason. Last year, he was still recovering from offseason surgery on his throwing arm.
RELATED:
George Kittle recently spoke with ESPN during the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, where he joined other NFL stars for the golfing event. Of course, the conversation shifted toward football, with Laura Rutledge asking Kittle to reflect on the team's 2023 season, its Super Bowl defeat, and the motivation it provides for the upcoming season.
The tight end believes San Francisco maintained a competitive roster this offseason and is gearing up for another run at a championship. He emphasized the importance of maintaining good health and continual improvement for a successful upcoming season.
"Brock Purdy is a fantastic quarterback, and he's only going to get better because he's young," Kittle said. "And we were fortunate enough to be able to keep our entire
Last week, it was reported that the San Francisco 49ers planned to host former Kentucky cornerback Andru Phillips on a pre-draft visit. NFL Network's Mike Garafolo confirms that the visit will take place during the upcoming week, which marks the final opportunity for such visits to occur.
Phillips will also meet with the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans this week.
Adding a noteworthy tidbit to the social media post, Garafolo mentions, "A likely second-round pick, though some evaluators have first-round grades on
The San Francisco 49ers announced the signing of wide receiver Trent Taylor to a one-year deal, reuniting with the team's former fifth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area was the first to report that the 49ers were discussing a potential reunion with Taylor. The receiver was part of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's first draft class in 2017 and spent his first four NFL seasons with the team.
The #49ers are talking with free-agent slot receiver/return man
