Day 6 of the San Francisco 49ers training camp is officially over, as it was a lighter practice following a scrimmage-heavy day on Monday, with the team following a balanced approach with the pass and run game.
The offense and defense each had their moments. Quarterback Brock Purdy had his best practice thus far, following Trey Lance's strong performance on Monday, while the defense accumulated eight sacks on the day, the most of training camp so far.
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Quarterbacks
Running Backs
The running backs were the position to watch on Tuesday, as Jordan Mason and Tyrion Davis-Price returned to the "standouts" list after each player had a great practice, running hard and working well with the holes they were provided by the offensive line.
Christian McCaffrey has really begun to settle in, winning a majority of his 1-on-1 reps, while getting several valuable carries to both sides of the field, running with good elusiveness and vision, but making everything look smooth with his feel for the game.
Khalan Laborn didn't get many opportunities as the top running backs took almost all of the carries, even with Elijah Mitchell not playing much.
Wide Receivers
Brandon Aiyuk continues to make tough catches, reeling in a bullet from Lance along the right sideline while being draped in coverage by Ambry Thomas.
Aiyuk caught three passes, one from Purdy, Lance, and Allen each, on four targets, consistently finding himself open while on the field, and making the plays he's expected to make.
Deebo Samuel disappointed on Tuesday, recording a fumble after Isaiah Oliver punched the ball out of his hands while the wideout was turning upfield on a screen play. Samuel has seen a few reps now in the screen game, but has had a tendency for some ball security issues in the past with fumbles and drops. That can't happen, come regular season time.
Samuel did have two other catches, a touchdown pass from Purdy on the lone redzone score of the day, as well as an intermediate find by Sam Darnold in between linebackers Marcelino McCrary-Ball and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles.
Tay Martin is starting to heat up, building off last season's strong training camp flashes, as he caught a 20-yard crosser from Brandon Allen on a play-action shot play for a good gain. Martin has been buried on the depth chart but still has some opportunities to flash over the last week of camp.
Tight Ends
After a quiet day for the tight ends Monday, some players started to see some action on Tuesday, as George Kittle led the pack with a 10-12 yard catch from Brock Purdy, beating Tashaun Gipson and earning yards after the catch on the play.
Kittle was targeted three times, with Lance errantly missing him once and Purdy nearly throwing an interception to Deommodore Lenoir on the other, although the cornerback was flagged on the play for a holding penalty in coverage against the tight end, nullifying the play.
While we haven't seen much from the backup tight ends, Brayden Willis saw some action Tuesday, catching two passes in the flat, one from Lance and another from Allen, while displaying good hands in 1-on-1s, although he struggled to gain separation on some opportunities.
Charlie Woerner did have some nice plays, as I caught him running a nice route and hauling in a catch during 1-on-1s, as well as having a good block in the backfield on a halfback draw.
Offensive Line
The offensive line was an interesting case to monitor Tuesday, as it was a tale of two halves over the first and second portions of team drills.
They started hot, as they got the better of the defensive line in 1-on-1s, which is hard to do, given the nature of the drill, with Colton McKivitz having two solid reps against Clelin Ferrell and Drake Jackson in another solid day for the right tackle.
In addition, Trent Williams returned to practice and looked like his normal self, dismantling Jackson on the first rep, while winning against Ferrell later on. Other standout plays involved Aaron Banks, who had a good rep against Javon Hargrave, although he was later beaten by Arik Armstead, and Nick Zakelj, who anchored well on two reps, which had been an area of concern during his rookie season training camp.
Spencer Burford's struggles continued, as he lost a rep to Alex Barrett in 1-on-1s, while giving up sacks to the defensive end and Javon Hargrave in team drills on Tuesday.
To begin team drills, the offensive line had a good start, apart from some inopportune false start penalties, but then the flurry of sacks began to rain down, as the defensive line ended with eight, although not all were the front five's faults.
McKivitz has continued to play well at right tackle, showcasing consistency in 1-on-1s with good pass protection, but some inconsistencies in team drills, as he gave up another sack on Tuesday. Still, the early returns have been better than expected, which should continue as he gains continuity with the front five.
While the pass protection wasn't great overall, I was actually impressed by the blocking in the run game.
The top running backs all flourished on Tuesday, and it was partially due to holes created from the offensive line, allowing them to get to the second level and play a physical style of football. With pads being integrated over the last week, the offensive line will continue to be a point of focus as the team gets ready for joint practices against the Las Vegas Raiders.