The 49ers during Friday’s practice offered a peek at what the depth chart looks like in the early portion of training camp.
With a slew of players either sitting out due to injury or rest, several reserves got into action with starters. ESPN’s Nick Wagoner noted tight end Eric Saubert rolled with the first team while George Kittle sat out. Cornerback Charvarius Ward also missed the session, allowing Isaac Yiadom to play with the starting unit. Defensive end Nick Bosa was replaced by Yetur Gross-Matos and defensive tackle Kevin Givens filled in for Maliek Collins.
This is all very preliminary, but it does give us some insight into how things are starting out on San Francisco’s depth chart. While Saubert and Givens aren’t liable to snag starting jobs, Yiadom and Gross-Matos are both players who could certainly push their way to the top of the depth chart.
Yiadom is in the mix to snag the third CB spot where he’d be on the field a ton in nickel packages. He could play outside with Ward while Deommodore Lenoir kicked into the slot.
Gross-Matos won’t replace Bosa, but he could emerge as the No. 1 option to start on the opposite edge. Veteran Leonard Floyd figures to be the starter to open camp. It’s not out of the realm of possibilities though that Gross-Matos has a strong enough camp to unseat the nine-year veteran.
We’ll keep a close eye on which reserves are getting starters reps throughout camp. Right now it’s interesting, but it’ll really start to matter more as we get closer to the regular season.