Winners and losers from 49ers OTAs and minicamp: Rookies make strides but mixed fortunes for class of 2023
The San Francisco 49ers' offseason workout program is over. San Francisco wrapped up mandatory minicamp on Friday, with players and coaches leaving the facility for an extended break ahead of training camp next month, when the Niners' preparations for the new season will really ramp up. It will be training camp that will have a […]
The San Francisco 49ers' offseason workout program is over.
San Francisco wrapped up mandatory minicamp on Friday, with players and coaches leaving the facility for an extended break ahead of training camp next month, when the Niners' preparations for the new season will really ramp up.
It will be training camp that will have a much greater bearing on the makeup of the initial 53-man roster for the regular season. However, several players experienced contrasting fortunes at OTAs and minicamp, while the events of the last two weeks have also been significant for one star player not present at practice.
Here we look at four winners and four losers from OTAs and minicamp.
Winners
WR Ricky Pearsall
Eyebrows that were raised when the 49ers spent the 31st overall pick on a wide receiver, but Pearsall has already set about silencing those who questioned that selection.
Indeed, Pearsall has received praise from several teammates, with Deebo Samuel hailing his route-running and Fred Warner speaking highly of how quickly the former Florida Gator has settled into the locker room.
The most important praise, though, has come from quarterback Brock Purdy and head coach Kyle Shanahan. Purdy, impressed with the speed with which Pearsall has absorbed the playbook, has already built a rapport with the surprise first-rounder, with Shanahan describing their connection as “fun to watch”.
A string of standout practice showings in the absence of Brandon Aiyuk, the 49ers’ leading wideout from 2022 and 2023, have served to boost Pearsall’s chances of being a significant contributor in year one. While he will need to carry his positive momentum from OTAs and minicamp into training camp, Pearsall seems well-positioned to hit the ground running as a rookie regardless of his snap count.
OL Ben Bartch
Signed off the Jaguars’ practice squad last November, Bartch was predominantly limited to garbage time duty for the 49ers in 2023. However, with Jake Brendel out because of a knee problem, Bartch got some first-team work at center in minicamp, having last week drawn praise from Chris Foerster for taking a step forward.
Last season, Bartch appeared to still be shaking off the lingering effects of a serious knee injury.
But Foerster said recently of his progress: "I forgot he had the ACL. That’s why it was kind of that little bit of a delay. And he got back in there this year, and he has this spring, he’s taken a step."
“Now, we’re playing in shorts. But his initial – he’s hurt it, he got away from it, he’s come back and he’s looked very, very good at center and guard. And we’ll see when we get the pads on, if he’s able to play with a little more anchor, a little more strength and the things. But right now, he looks like he’s been here for three or four years and has fit in very well. We’re happy with Ben.”
Brendel is heading into his age-32 season and looms as a potential cap casualty next offseason. If the 26-year-old Bartch can impress in training camp, it might give the 49ers confidence they have a long-term answer at center whom they can re-sign at a very affordable price next year.
LB Dee Winters
The 49ers have an opening at SAM linebacker with Dre Greenlaw unlikely to be ready for Week 1 and De’Vondre Campbell the favorite to take his WILL linebacker spot while he recovers.
A standout in OTAs and minicamp, 2023 sixth-round pick Winters looks to have taken the lead in the race to fill that void, with All-Pro MIKE linebacker Fred Warner paying him a massive compliment this week.
"I think Dee's probably had the best OTAs out of anybody on the team," Warner said. "I feel like he's come along since last year. [He] has come in this year and has just been on it, making plays left and right. He came in great shape this OTAs, and so he's set himself up to have a great training camp. He's going to train hard this summer and have a chance."
With intriguing athletic ability and a track record of making plays in the backfield in college, Winters seems well placed to at least begin the year as a starter on base downs provided he can maintain his upward trajectory in training camp.
CB Renardo Green
San Francisco has put a lot on the plate of its rookie second-round corner, trying him at both nickel and outside corner to start his career.
By all accounts, Green has responded superbly, with defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen lavishing praise on the former Florida State defender for "embracing the challenge" of learning two different positions and their respective complexities.
Said Sorensen: "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."
Green excelling at nickel would allow the Niners to keep Deommodore Lenoir outside and give them much greater flexibility and depth at a premium position. There’s a long way to go, with more tests coming in training camp and preseason, but the early signs are very positive.
Losers
WR Brandon Aiyuk
Though he did not attend either, Aiyuk has to be considered a loser from OTAs and minicamp because he still does not have what he wants — a lucrative, long-term extension from the 49ers. On top of that, in his absence, the 49ers have arguably found further reason not to rush to pay Aiyuk what he wants with Pearsall’s quick emergence as a standout in practice.
It’s early to say the 49ers would be happy to let Aiyuk head into 2024 without a deal because of the presence of Pearsall as a potential long-term successor. However, with general manager John Lynch having already stated they would be ok with Aiyuk playing on his fifth-year-option, the 49ers finding extra cause to maintain that stance is far from ideal for Aiyuk.
The likely outcome remains that the 49ers sign Aiyuk to an extension. While the Christian McCaffrey extension gave the 49ers a little more room to find middle ground with Aiyuk, overall it hasn’t been a good couple of weeks for his hopes of getting the contract he desires.
The 2023 tight end draft picks
While there have been positive noises about the strides made by Brayden Willis, he and fellow 2023 tight end draft pick Cameron Latu head towards training camp with their chances of making the roster diminished.
Latu has still not practiced as he recovers from the knee injury that saw him miss the entirety of his rookie year and, with the 49ers this week signing veteran Logan Thomas to give them a true passing threat at backup tight end, neither he nor Willis is in a good spot to make the final 53-man roster.
The Niners earlier this offseason signed Eric Saubert to a contract with $400,000 of guaranteed money, that sum increasing the likelihood of him making the roster. With so many options at wide receiver, the Niners would seem to have little reason to carry more than three tight ends. Even if they carry a fourth, one of their 2023 picks at the position looks almost certain to be cut.
Ambry Thomas
Green handling his versatile role very well early on, combined with Sorensen praising Isaac Yiadom and, perhaps even more pertinently, Darrell Luter Jr, spells bad news for Thomas and his hopes making the roster.
Thomas realistically faces a fight with Luter and Samuel Womack III for the sixth cornerback spot, assuming the 49ers carry that many, and they might be more inclined to have another corner on the depth chart with Thomas' starting experience if Green shows signs of struggling with the transition to the pros.
So far, that has not happened. Both Yiadom and Rock Ya-Sin provide experienced depth options, and the 49ers right now would appear to have more reason to keep Luter around rather than give another shot to a corner in Thomas whose periods of consistent play have been too sporadic since being drafted in 2021.
San Francisco 49ers signing of tight end Logan Thomas gives them an unusual embarrassment of riches
They have a lot of options.
