49ers Training Camp Day 9 Breakdown: Defense

Day 9 of the San Francisco 49ers training camp is officially over, as it was a light practice, with the energy level lowered after a long practice on Friday, with Brock Purdy taking a rest day, allowing Trey Lance and Sam Darnold to work with the first-team offense.

It was an underwhelming start for the quarterbacks, but Trey Lance finished strong, ending with a deep touchdown pass to Willie Snead on an incredible catch for a touchdown.

Defensive Line

The defensive line continued to have their way against the offensive line, recording four sacks, and a few plays that could've swung their way in close calls on another successful day of training camp.

This was done without Arik Armstead, who was one of a multitude of players to rest on a low-energy practice Saturday.

Kerry Hyder had himself a solid practice, beating Matt Pryor for a sack and having some good reps against Colton McKivitz on the edge, while Taco Charlton continued to impress, winning both of his 1-on-1 reps.

On a day where Steve Wilks threw a lot of creative blitzes, it wasn't necessarily a flashy day for the defensive line, as a lot of linebackers and defensive backs got in the action at the line of scrimmage.

Linebackers

Dre Greenlaw was around the ball a lot on Saturday, generating a nice run stop on Christian McCaffrey, while being the first player to the ball on a few occasions, including on a screen pass.

Marcelino-McCrary Ball. You already know the deal with him. He's one to consistently make plays on the ball, flying around a lot as a linebacker, which was seen again on Saturday.

Jalen Graham is another player that I visually saw make a play or two during 11s, as he and Dee Winters look to fight for that final roster spot at linebacker.

Linebacker is a talented position for the 49ers. They're in good hands, top to bottom.

Defensive Backs

Charvarius Ward was beaten by Deebo Samuel on a second consecutive day downfield, only this time, the quarterback overthrew the pass, leading to an incompletion.

That was the lone negative for Ward, who had a nice pass breakup over the middle on a ball intended for George Kittle in a solid day overall during 11s.

D'Shawn Jamison had himself another nice day, nearly picking off a pass for the second consecutive outing, breaking well on a ball from Brandon Allen, and getting both hands on the pass. Now, it came as a sack, but nonetheless was a solid play from the undrafted rookie, whose status on the roster seems stronger and stronger by the day.

Jamison did get beaten by Danny Gray on a deep ball, but it was still a solid day for the undrafted rookie.

There were a few blitzes from defensive backs that were well-designed, leaving free rushers to go after the quarterback, which was the case on an A.J. Parker sack, as well as a few other pressures, including one from George Odum. Good day from the backend, and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks.

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