Tag: 49ers draft picks

3 49ers draft picks all dealing with same injury in 1st training camp

It’s a tough year to be a 49ers 2024 draft pick.

It’s been a tough training camp to be a 49ers 2024 draft pick. Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, wide receiver Jacob Cowing and running back Isaac Guerendo are all dealing with hamstring injuries.

Pearsall has yet to participate in any of the first four training camp practices because of his ailment. He’s on the non-football injury list, but the expectation is for him to join the club in practice when they resume activities Monday.

Guerendo was healthy to start camp. On Day 1 of practice he suffered a hamstring injury. Then Cowing went down with an injury that kept him out of Days 3 and 4. Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Saturday after practice confirmed Cowing is dealing with a hamstring issue as well.

Rookies missing any practice is bad news. They’re the players most in need of reps. Hamstring injuries can also be tricky, so the 49ers might be extremely cautious in bringing those players back into the mix, leading to additional missed sessions.

On the other hand, as long as the hamstring injuries aren’t major they should be able to avoid missing significant time. If all three are back in time for the preseason opener where they can get in-game reps they should be able to catch up and make an impact.

For now the focus will just be ensuring they’re healthy as quickly as possible, and ensuring no more first-year players wind up having to miss time.

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Some early bad news for 49ers rookie running back

A 49ers rookie is already nursing what appears to be a hamstring injury after one day of camp.

It’s too early in training camp to have a ‘bad’ training camp, but things didn’t get off to a great start for 49ers rookie running back Isaac Guerendo.

Guerendo on Day 1 of camp had to exit the session after pulling up with what appears to be a hamstring injury. Head coach Kyle Shanahan after practice said he wasn’t sure the extent of the ailment.

“Yeah, we think it was a hamstring,” Shanahan said. “So it looked like he hyperextended a little bit. He was going about half speed it looked like. So it was an unusual one, but they just told me it was a hamstring. But we got to get the MRI.”

This could be a significant blow for the rookie fourth-round pick in his first camp. Guerendo dealt with injuries throughout his college career as well which is part of the reason such an early issue raises a red flag.

San Francisco’s running back room is crowded with veterans and a talented undrafted rookie Cody Schrader. This hamstring issue could put Guerendo behind the curve in a way that makes it much more difficult to catch up. He was already going to be battling Elijah Mitchell, Jordan Mason, Patrick Taylor and Schrader for a roster spot. Now he’ll potentially have to compete with fewer practices under his belt.

Ideally the injury won’t sideline Guerendo for long and he’ll get a couple practices in before the team’s preseason opener on Aug. 10 in Tennessee.

The good news for Guerendo is his skill set should translate well to the 49ers’ offense. He’s explosive, fast and very good at keeping his balance through contact. If he can get healthy and stay healthy he has a real chance to be a factor in that crowded San Francisco backfield.

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Kyle Shanahan explains why 49ers didn’t address biggest perceived weakness in NFL draft

The 49ers usually don’t address their offensive line in the offseason. It’s hard to argue with Kyle Shanahan’s explanation.

There’s been a common critique of the 49ers’ last handful of offseasons. They seldom do anything substantial to address their offensive line, which has been arguably the weakest link on their roster over the last five seasons.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan in an appearance on the ‘TK Show’ with Tim Kawakami explained why the club opted not to shell out a first-round pick for an offensive lineman this year after going without a first-round pick in the last two drafts.

While offensive line might have topped the club’s list of “needs,” Shanahan’s philosophy on team building kept the 49ers from bending over backwards to find an upgrade up front.

“I’ve heard the narrative that we’re ignoring the O-line and stuff,” Shanahan told Kawakami. “If we felt the O-line was the best pick there there’s no doubt that’s who we’d take, but there were some O-lineman there at the end of the first round that we feel has just as good of a chance as a guy at the end of the second round. One’s a higher prospect and might have a higher ceiling, but I’m not too concerned about the ceiling. I want to know if he’s gonna be a starting left tackle, a starting left guard, whatever – a starting NFL player. And if you are a starting NFL lineman, I think we can have a good team with you. Now, if we have a bunch of starting NFL lineman and there’s no one who can score points, you’re not gonna have that good of an offense.”

It’s hard to argue with the results. Since 2017 when Shanahan and general manager John Lynch took over the 49ers have used only one first-round pick on an offensive lineman. That was right tackle Mike McGlinchey in the 2018 draft. Their lone second-round OL is left guard Aaron Banks, and their lone third-round OL is rookie Dominick Puni.

They also finagled Trent Williams away from Washington on Day 3 of the 2020 draft for a fifth-round pick and a future third-round selection.

Beyond that they’ve signed lower-cost veterans and shelled out late-round draft capital to address those needs.

While the OL hasn’t been perfect, particularly against the likes of Aaron Donald and Chris Jones in big games, they’ve been good enough to get the 49ers to four NFC title games and two Super Bowls in Shanahan’s seven years as head coach.

It’ll be interesting to see how San Francisco operates once Williams decides to retire. Shanahan referenced his offensive line in Washington that had a ton of success, but Williams anchored that patchwork group. He was the No. 4 overall pick.

The 49ers aren’t liable to be picking that high any time soon, which begs the question of how they’ll address a Hall of Fame sized hole at the most important position on the OL. Perhaps Shanahan will alter course at that point and prioritize that spot. Or he could continue with his philosophy of just adding good players and letting his play calling and offensive playmakers make up for any deficiencies in the trenches.

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Brandon Aiyuk isn’t 49ers only WR contract to iron out

Brandon Aiyuk’s contract situation has rightly gotten all the attention, but there’s another #49ers WR who still hasn’t signed a deal.

While the focus has rightly been heavily on Brandon Aiyuk’s contract situation, the 49ers have another wide receiver contract to figure out. First-round pick Ricky Pearsall is the lone member of San Francisco’s 2024 draft class that hasn’t signed his rookie deal.

Ideally rookies would be signed well before camp to ensure they’re in every practice leading up to the start of the regular season, but it’s also not a huge deal yet that Pearsall’s deal isn’t totally ironed out.

Given the new rookie scale there isn’t any negotiation over years and dollars on the deal. All there is to figure out is minutiae of the contract language which is usually a formality. It can get a little sticky though, especially when San Francisco is also trying to get a long-term extension done with Aiyuk.

For Pearsall there’s no real concern that he’s going to hold out. However, if he hasn’t put pen to paper on his rookie contract by the time camp starts he runs the risk of missing valuable practice reps. The No. 31 overall pick doesn’t figure to be a starter in Year 1, but he should have a chance to factor in as a third or fourth wide receiver when the entire receiving corps is healthy.

He got off to a strong start in OTAs and mandatory minicamp which will help him hit the ground running in camp. Continuing his ascension once things get serious in late July and early August is going to be essential. Pearsall won’t be able to do that if he’s not on the field.

Rookies are slated to report to camp on July 16,  a week before veterans are scheduled to arrive on July 23. That gives Pearsall and his agent some time to hammer out that deal before the real practices start. As long as he has a contract by Day 1 of camp then everything should be fine. If he starts missing vital practice reps though there could be a larger problem. This will be something to keep a close eye on as the rookie reporting date approaches.

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Position change could give 49ers rookie CB Renardo Green chance to start in Year 1

Versatility could be the key for #49ers rookie CB Renardo Green earning a starting job right away.

One of the few question marks on the 49ers depth chart sits at the cornerback position where the third spot alongside Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir remains wide open. Defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen on Wednesday had some strong praise for rookie Renardo Green, who is trying out a new position with San Francisco.

The 49ers selected Green in the second round – the earliest they’ve picked a CB in the Kyle Shanahan era and it sounds like he may have a chance to earn a starting job in Year 1 thanks to his willingness to compete in the slot and outside.

“I’ve been really happy with Renardo,” Sorensen told reporters in his post-practice press conference. “The cool thing is he’s been doing both nickel and corner and it’s not a lot of time right? It’s a certain amount of practices and hasn’t fully been a nickel. So, he’s really embraced the challenge of it. That’s the best part. Like it’s never perfect because now all of a sudden we’re teaching you all these different coverages, but there’s also run fits too and then that changes. And guess what? You can’t like fully trigger and feel the physicality of the line because there’s rules and those guys aren’t playing the same. But just with him, it’s just the mentality and the competitiveness that I love. We knew the movement skill was there and you see it in man-to-man stuff and he gets those too. But just like he’s embraced any challenge that’s anything that’s hard I think he’s embraced and he’s kind of attacked it and willingly been like, ‘no man, I want more of that.’ And that’s really been awesome.”

There’s some flexibility at that third starting spot because of Lenoir’s versatility. He can play both in the slot and outside, so the 49ers don’t have to be picky about exactly what position the third CB will play.

Green primarily played outside in college, but the 49ers are getting him work at both spots during his transition to the NFL. How he handles that transition once pads come on will determine where he competes as a rookie and if he can earn a starting job out of training camp.

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49ers OL coach would rather draft skill position players than O-linemen

Should the 49ers use early draft picks on OL? Even their OL coach says no.

The 49ers haven’t done much to prioritize the offensive line in the draft since head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch arrived in 2017.

They added right tackle Mike McGlinchey in the first round of the 2018 draft, and in 2021 they used a second-round pick on left guard Aaron Banks. Those are the only two picks in the first two rounds they’ve used on offensive linemen, and offensive line coach Chris Foerster shed some light on that philosophy when he spoke with reporters after Wednesday’s OTA session.

Transcription via the 49ers:

This is my personal opinion, if they ask me, invest in guys that touch the ball, guys that can touch the ball and score touchdowns. And then there’s a range of guys, second, third, fourth round, fifth round even, that we will find starting offensive linemen in. At some point can you draft them? Yeah, you draft Trent Williams. You pick a draft where you’re getting a difference maker. But there’s guys that can make a difference, that touch the ball, well into the second, third, fourth rounds, or second and third rounds, at least. And definitely in the first round. That guy that touches the ball, it makes a huge difference in the game. The right guard makes a difference, we’ve talked about it before, but that’s where we’re able to find fourth and fifth round draft picks. How dominant is the difference between pick 34 versus pick 54, in offensive line play? And that’s what you’re trying to balance all the time. So, will we draft the best available player, all those types of things? Definitely will. And were we possibly ready to draft guys higher in the draft? Yes. But if there’s somebody that can touch the ball and make plays, in my opinion, if you ask me, ‘Chris, do you want him?’ I want the guy that touches the ball, for me. Because I think we can develop those players much more readily and have developed those players through the times because we do have specific things that we’re looking for. We know what we’re looking for through the course of time. That’s the advantage of being together with Kyle for so long that we kind of can pigeonhole these guys. Are we always right? Heck no, we’re not always right and nobody is on anything. Could you put five first rounders across the front? I don’t know that we have to, to have success.

This is a fascinating insight from Foerster that likely reflects part of San Francisco’s team-building philosophy. They’ve invested in free agent centers to try and find stability at that spot, and they replaced Joe Staley with Williams via trade during the 2020 draft. Beyond that they’ve been able to piece together really good offenses by investing in big-time playmakers and then working around deficiencies on the offensive line.

While it’s hard to argue with given their success at putting up points and yards under Shanahan, there’s a counterargument that says their Super Bowl hopes have been derailed by dominant defensive linemen in all five years that they’ve fallen just short of their goal.

Given Williams’ age we may see the 49ers make another big investment on the offensive line soon to shore up the left tackle spot, but beyond that don’t expect San Francisco to suddenly start using premium draft capital up front because even the offensive line coach doesn’t believe in doing so.

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Don’t expect 49ers rookie OL Dominick Puni to compete for starting RT spot

Dominick Puni can play anywhere on the OL, but the #49ers don’t plan on putting him in the mix to compete for the starting right tackle job.

The 49ers may be looking for an upgrade at right tackle, but don’t expect it to be rookie offensive lineman Dominick Puni.

Puni, who played left guard in 2022 at Kansas University before moving to left tackle in 2023, profiled as a guard according to most draft analysts. However, his experience at tackle in college gave some reason to believe he could be in the mix to start at RT if the 49ers put together a competition to try and unseat incumbent starter Colton McKivitz.

49ers offensive line coach and run game coordinator Chris Foerster told reporters after Wednesday’s practice that he doesn’t foresee Puni pushing for a starting OT spot.

“The only thing, I’m not sure I’m going to rep him at is center, but he’s going to be able to play left guard, left tackle, right guard, right tackle,” Foerster said. “We’ll primarily work him at right guard right now. That’s a place we felt we could get some competition going and work at that spot. But he easily could be the fourth tackle, third. He could work in anywhere there. He’s got ability to play all. He’s best suited to guard though. You never know what happens. We’ll see how it plays out.”

Spencer Burford was handed the starting right guard job last season after holding down that spot in 2022 as a rookie. He wound up losing that job to veteran Jon Feliciano who returned this offseason on a one-year deal. That duo figures to be in the mix again, but Puni is a player who could provide a legitimate upgrade to start consistently at RG. That would push Feliciano and Burford down the depth chart to improve San Francisco’s depth on the interior.

It’s nigh impossible to make any determinations about the depth chart based on OTAs because the pads haven’t come on yet. We’ll learn a lot more about exactly where Puni fits into the guard rotation once training camp begins in late July.

As far as who will win the job, Foerster said consistency will be king.

“We’re just looking for that consistency,” Foerster said. “Maybe it comes from Spencer this year. Obviously, he’s the most talented of the players. I think he’s as talented or more than Puni. Puni will push that from that. And Jon’s just a guy that is a veteran, good player that knows how to get it done. Very savvy, good vet player. But these talented guys, when they figure it out and that’s what you keep hoping. So maybe it comes from Spence, maybe it comes from Puni, maybe it comes from somebody else. I don’t know where it comes from. But we’re hoping we can get just a little more consistent play out of that position.”

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Rookie WR Ricky Pearsall can benefit from Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings OTA absences

While Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings are absent from OTAs, Ricky Pearsall has a chance for valuable reps.

Two of the notable absences from the 49ers’ Tuesday OTA session were wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings. Both players are aiming for long-term extensions this offseason which presumably plays into why they weren’t in attendance for the voluntary session.

While head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters he doesn’t make much of absences from the voluntary portion of the offseason program, he did note that rookie WR Ricky Pearsall could benefit from two of the team’s top three receivers missing practice.

“Yeah, I always think the more reps you get, the more experience you get, the more different situations you can be put in,” Shanahan said in a press conference Tuesday. “I mean, if you’re talented enough and made of the right stuff, you only get better. But sometimes it’s hard to generate those things, especially in a practice when it’s not full speed all the time and things like that. So the more reps you can get of it, always helps the right type of player.”

It’s clear there are limits to how much Pearsall (or any rookie for that matter) can benefit from OTAs since they don’t have pads on and aren’t hitting, but more reps are undoubtedly helpful for a first-year player looking to learn the offense and build a rapport with the quarterback.

There won’t be a real chance for Pearsall to climb into a top-two spot on the WR depth chart this year. He could definitely be in the mix for WR3 snaps though, and these early offseason reps will only help his ability to take advantage of the opportunities that arise later in the year.

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WATCH: 1st look at 49ers 1st-round pick WR Ricky Pearsall in action

Here’s a look at 49ers WR Ricky Pearsall on the field for the first time:

It’s important not to overreact to rookie minicamp where getting players’ feet wet with their new teammates and coaches is a more primary goal that determining roster decisions. However, getting a first look at the rookies is always a fun element to the session.

Among the players at rookie minicamp is first-round pick Ricky Pearsall, who has yet to sign his rookie contract. Our friends at 95.7 the Game in San Francisco posted a video on Twitter of Pearsall in his practice jersey and helmet — offering a first look at the first-round pick in a 49ers uniform.

It appears Pearsall is fielding a punt in the video:

Returning punts wasn’t a primary job for Pearsall in college. He had just 15 punt returns, all coming in his two years at Florida in 2022 and 2023. With the position open on the 49ers’ roster they may look for their first-rounder to contribute in that area in Year 1.

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3 more 49ers draft picks officially sign rookie contracts

The #49ers have now signed 5 members of their 2024 draft class.

Three more 49ers draft picks have signed their rookie contracts the team announced Friday. Offensive lineman Dominick Puni, safety Malik Mustapha and linebacker Tatum Bethune all signed their four-year contracts, bringing the total to six draft picks of San Francisco’s eight-player class to ink their standard rookie deals.

Cornerback Renardo Green, running back Isaac Guerendo and wide receiver Jacob Cowing all signed their deals Thursday, but the team officially announced them with Puni and Bethune.

WR Ricky Pearsall and OL Jarrett Kingston remain unsigned, although whether they sign is largely a formality since the years and dollars are pre-set.

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