2026 OTA/Camp Battles by Position

Originally posted by Heroism:

deja vu

[tweet https://x.com/MaioccoNBCS/status/2060105247176159571]

Right, can either stay healthy this, year so we can have some effing speed on the field against pass defense weak teams?

I am a believer in Cowing, he made the most of the few snaps he got year one. It bugged me he wasn't used more but supposedly he didn't know every position well enough.

I was hoping for a breakout as the slot guy and I'm not entirely convinced that Kirk has it on lock this year. Kirk has injury history too so I imagine JC has a good chance if healthy.

Wonder who our return guy will be; both kick and punt. Was so nice having something there last season in Moore.

I finally see the electrical substation behind the practice fields in some of the videos posted, no wonder some of these guys think that thing totally sucks. It's quite extensive and ominous looking.

Originally posted by Heroism:
deja vu

The 49ers just concluded their first practice of OTAs open to the media. The offensive standouts were, quite clearly, WRs Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins, and RB Kaelon Black.

— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) May 28, 2026

They should give out OTA mvps

Originally posted by 49ersRing:

Isaac Guerendo tore his pectoral lifting weights about a month ago. His timeline should have him back around the end of training camp, per Kyle Shanahan pic.twitter.com/7zoYoVnMxp

— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) May 28, 2026

Another victim of electrical infetterence.

Welp, UDFA running back, come on down....

Originally posted by ninerjok:
I finally see the electrical substation behind the practice fields in some of the videos posted, no wonder some of these guys think that thing totally sucks. It's quite extensive and ominous looking.

Maybe they should be more concerned about that 300 lb guy that's trying to drive them into the turf.

The squad really isn't changed much from last year, it's just getting back a few injured players (Fred, Bosa, Mykel, Ricky, Cowing)

Strength is still going to heavily depend on team health. If healthy, I'd say the following are clear upgrades:

WR: Evans, Stribling, Cowing > Jennings, Bourne

LB: Greenlaw >> Winters

DT: Osa, Halton > Elliot, Davis (probably)

Outside of that, it's kinda TBD with some dart throws at CB, OL, and DE.

S and TE are completely unchanged. RB may be a wash.

A few injuries and we would be in as bad of shape as last year unless this rookie class is almost all big-time ballers.

IMO, the hugest win for our defense getting a major boost would be if Sigle could clearly beat out Brown to start. That would allow Malik to just be a missile in the run game, and hopefully improved pass rush would get us more turnovers.

That nickel rush of Bosa, Williams, Osa, and Height sounds like a problem for NFL teams.

Originally posted by 49ers808:
Wonder who our return guy will be; both kick and punt. Was so nice having something there last season in Moore.

Projection is Cowing, I would have liked to see Guerendo back there with his 4.3 speed

Originally posted by Since07:

Originally posted by 49ers808:
Wonder who our return guy will be; both kick and punt. Was so nice having something there last season in Moore.

Projection is Cowing, I would have liked to see Guerendo back there with his 4.3 speed

I mean Cowing has 4.3 speed too; but we've seen him back there and he simply wasn't good at it. Hopefully that was rookie jitters and he's a different guy back there if it is him.

Originally posted by 49ers808:

Originally posted by Since07:

Originally posted by 49ers808:
Wonder who our return guy will be; both kick and punt. Was so nice having something there last season in Moore.

Projection is Cowing, I would have liked to see Guerendo back there with his 4.3 speed

I mean Cowing has 4.3 speed too; but we've seen him back there and he simply wasn't good at it. Hopefully that was rookie jitters and he's a different guy back there if it is him.

Cowing is 5'9 170lbs, Guerendo is 6'0 220lbs. Cowing should be the PR because that requires more agility, Guerendo should be KR and put his shoulder down to punish tacklers is the way I see it.

Originally posted by Since07:

Originally posted by 49ers808:

Originally posted by Since07:

Originally posted by 49ers808:
Wonder who our return guy will be; both kick and punt. Was so nice having something there last season in Moore.

Projection is Cowing, I would have liked to see Guerendo back there with his 4.3 speed

I mean Cowing has 4.3 speed too; but we've seen him back there and he simply wasn't good at it. Hopefully that was rookie jitters and he's a different guy back there if it is him.

Cowing is 5'9 170lbs, Guerendo is 6'0 220lbs. Cowing should be the PR because that requires more agility, Guerendo should be KR and put his shoulder down to punish tacklers is the way I see it.

Agreed. I would have liked to see Isaac back there on KR duties too

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
The squad really isn't changed much from last year, it's just getting back a few injured players (Fred, Bosa, Mykel, Ricky, Cowing)

Strength is still going to heavily depend on team health. If healthy, I'd say the following are clear upgrades:

WR: Evans, Stribling, Cowing > Jennings, Bourne

LB: Greenlaw >> Winters

DT: Osa, Halton > Elliot, Davis (probably)

Outside of that, it's kinda TBD with some dart throws at CB, OL, and DE.

S and TE are completely unchanged. RB may be a wash.

A few injuries and we would be in as bad of shape as last year unless this rookie class is almost all big-time ballers.

IMO, the hugest win for our defense getting a major boost would be if Sigle could clearly beat out Brown to start. That would allow Malik to just be a missile in the run game, and hopefully improved pass rush would get us more turnovers.

That nickel rush of Bosa, Williams, Osa, and Height sounds like a problem for NFL teams.

Coaching staff has changed a bunch too. I think the new coaches will make a big difference on the defense. I'm so glad they are expanding their defensive concepts past the Wide 9, and prioritizing the DB's more than in the past.

Raheem Morris > Robert Saleh
Matt Eberflus = Gus Bradley
Jerry Gray > Daniel Bullocks
Cameron Clemmons ? Brian Fleury

I really hope this group stays healthy and plays well for us this year.

Originally posted by DRCHOWDER:

D-Line on the hunt 💪 pic.twitter.com/pk4erfNuva

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) May 30, 2026

I really hope our this group stays healthy and plays well for us this year.

Agree 💯%, and I'll just add that adding Kaelon is going to help that *workout warrior* culture that they had during the dynasty years. Jerry, Craig, and so many players were year round workout warriors during the dynasty years. I think that helped their durability during those years.