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The San Francisco 49ers had their second padded practice on Tuesday, and with it came their second 1-on-1 session between receivers and defensive backs, as well as the first battle between offensive and defensive linemen. Additionally, there were three 11-on-11 sessions, which was one more session than the other practices so far.
Rookie Drake Jackson stood out for the second consecutive day, and third time so far in camp, recording four pressures and two sacks, as well as a tackle for loss. Jackson consistently beat tackle Alfredo Gutierrez on the edge.
Defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw returned to practice and had a nice pass-rushing rep, although he was, once again, limited on the day.
Defensive linemen Samson Ebukam and Robert Nkemdiche each had a batted pass, while edge rusher Nick Bosa continued his dominance, getting a sack on a rep against left tackle Trent Williams where defensive tackle Kevin Givens beat right guard Spencer Burford and Ebukam beat right tackle Jaylon Moore to immediately get to quarterback Trey Lance.
Bosa had another successful rep, this one against fullback Kyle Juszczyk, which forced a Lance throwaway. Overall, the defensive line benefitted on Tuesday from stellar coverage, as there were a number of coverage sacks on the day.
Linebackers
Linebacker Fred Warner had an eventful day, twice getting into a scuffle with receiver Brandon Aiyuk, once after Aiyuk took exception to Warner pestering him after a play, and once after Aiyuk took exception to Warner laying one on Marcus Johnson, squaring up against the All-Pro.
Azeez Al-Shaair also had an eventful day, stopping Tyrion Davis-Price for a two-yard gain, drawing an incompletion in coverage against George Kittle, and earning a sack on a blitz off the edge. Al-Shaair also won a 1-on-1 rep against running back JaMycal Hasty, although he allowed a catch to running back Trey Sermon during the period as well.
One of the more notable reps during the 1-on-1 session was Marcelino McCrary-Ball against Davis-Price. McCrary-Ball covered the halfback well, but didn't turn his head around, and would have likely drawn a pass interference penalty.
Curtis Robinson appeared shaken up after a running back (I believe was Tyrion Davis-Price) delivered a blow, but the linebacker appeared later in the day.
Cornerbacks
Top cornerback Charvarius Ward did not practice on Tuesday. He has definitely earned a rest day following his stellar beginning to training camp.
Surprisingly, third-string cornerback Ka'Darr Hollman took the first-team reps opposite Emmanuel Moseley, as backups Deommodore Lenoir and Ambry Thomas remained with the second-team defense.
Thomas continued his up-and-down trend in training camp, allowing two catches to receiver Danny Gray, being burned for deep plays on both routes, while also being the cornerback in soft coverage on Gray's 12-yard slant catch, although safety George Odum was the closest defender at the catch point.
Thomas went 1/2 on the 1-on-1s that I saw, winning against Malik Turner on one rep, while losing to Tay Martin on a separate rep.
Darqueze Dennard continued to see all the action in the slot with the first-team defense and looked solid on his 1-on-1 reps, which were both against receiver Jauan Jennings. Dennard was originally beaten on the first play, but Jennings dropped the pass. Dennard then won his next rep against Jennings.
A side note: cornerback Jason Verrett, who had only been seen in street clothes, was out early before practice on Tuesday getting some conditioning in. He's recovering from a torn ACL that he sustained last season.
Safeties
Jimmie Ward was finally defeated during a 1-on-1 session, as receiver Brandon Aiyuk bested him on a deep route that included a nice deep ball from quarterback Trey Lance. However, Ward had a nice rep against undrafted free agent Taysir Mack during the period as well.
Talanoa Hufanga had a solid performance on Tuesday, first winning a rep against tight end George Kittle with a pass deflection near the beginning of 1-on-1s, while later getting beat by tight end Tanner Hudson on a rep.
Hufanga did give up a 20-yard catch to George Kittle during the scrimmage session, but played against the run well, stopping Trey Lance and Trey Sermon for three-yard gains on respective plays.
Dontae Johnson got his ankles broken during the 1-on-1 periods, as Austin Mack ran a good route against the veteran safety, stopping him in his tracks.
In the sole rep that I caught from Leon O'Neal during the 1-on-1 period on Tuesday, the rookie safety was beaten by tight end Tyler Kroft.
The San Francisco 49ers strengthened their safety position this week by adding versatile defensive back Logan Ryan. The team was looking to bolster the backfield following injuries to Talanoa Hufanga and George Odum. Hufanga suffered a season-ending torn ACL, while Odum sustained a torn biceps.
Ryan, most recently with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2022) and New York Giants (2020–21), played cornerback during his first seven seasons before transitioning to safety in 2020.
On Wednesday, Ryan revealed that he learned of the 49ers' interest while on a cruise in the Bahamas.
"Once I knew that the 49ers were interested, at that point, there wasn't any drinking on the cruise,
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San Francisco is proving to be a balanced team, equally impressive on offense and defense. Even 49ers defenders are in awe of the firepower on the offensive side of the football.
"I think the offense showed what we capable of when we're fully healthy," cornerback Charvarius Ward said in the locker room after the game.
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The unit has had its problems when facing mobile quarterbacks, often struggling to bring down elusive signal-callers, resulting in surrendering some embarrassing numbers.
They wanted to avoid that while facing Jalen Hurts, an MVP candidate who has amassed an impressive 2,328 rushing yards and 38 rushing touchdowns in his four NFL seasons. This time, the strategy was containment. The primary objective was to prevent Hurts from exploiting the 49ers with his legs, even if it meant sacrificing potential sacks.
Passing up aggressively pursuing a quarterback can
49ers mailbag: Can SF beat Philly again? How much influence does Kyle Shanahan have over the defense? How did Ji'Ayir Brown look on Sunday?
By Marc Adams
Dec 6
It's mailbag time again. I know you're excited. I can tell by the look in your eyes.
As always, thank you so much for submitting your questions. You are the reason the 49ers Webzone Mailbag is a fun read. So thank you for bringing your questions each week. Alright, let's jump right in to see what's on your mind.
Were there any changes made between the first two failed offensive drives and the rest? It seemed to be a major turnaround. - Frank W.
I'm sure they made some adjustments. The play-calling seemed to change a little. For example, in the first two drives, the 49ers ran one run play and five pass plays. Christian McCaffrey didn't touch the ball on either possession.
On the third drive, McCaffrey ran the ball on the first play
