49ers rookie recap: Will Kyle Shanahan trust 2 first-year players to start on a Super Bowl roster?

Dominick Puni and Renardo Green are putting themselves in a position to contribute for the Niners this season.

The San Francisco 49ers rookie class has been banged up for the most part. We have yet to see Ricky Pearsall in a preseason game, while the same is true for fourth-round running back Isaac Guerendo.

That could change for Guerendo this week, as Kyle Shanahan said the team expects the rookie running back to return to practice after sustaining a hamstring injury on Day 1. Pearsall remains day-to-day.

Still, six other draft picks have stepped onto the field. Let’s recap how they’ve looked.

CB Renardo Green

Green played a ton in Week 1, as he was on the field for 61 snaps against the Tennessee Titans. It’s evident that the coaching staff wanted to take a long look at their second-round pick. Green’s snap count was cut in half after he played 32 snaps against the New Orleans Saints.

I wouldn’t get too caught up in receptions allowed in the preseason. We’re looking for traits, and Green has flashed impressive recovery speed.

Samuel Womack ran a 4.39/4.40 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, while Green ran a 4.49. Yet, defending the same crossing route over the middle against an elite wide receiver with elite speed, Chris Olave, Green was in phase, not Womack.

Putting yourself in a position to make a play is half the battle, and that’s why Green broke up a pass early in the first half.

Isaac Yiadom remains out, which opens the door for Green to start the season as the 49ers nickel cornerback. He played 30 snaps outside, compared to just two in the box—and those two were due to condensed wide receiver splits, not Green playing in the slot. So, the Niners are getting a long look at their second-round pick on the perimeter.

A strong showing against the Raiders could propel Green as the CB3 on this team.

RG Dominick Puni

It’s August. Puni has probably seen more difficult looks in practice than he has in two preseason games. All we can do is evaluate what opposing defenses throw at the rookie right guard.

Puni played the entire first half against the New Orleans Saints, and he showed off every trait imaginable that you look for in an offensive lineman. Something that’s been consistent with Puni is that he’s always looking for work:

That should have been another hit on the quarterback. Instead, you get a chance to see how Puni’s head is constantly on a swivel.

If you go through each of his 40 snaps, the harshest judge would give him a “minus” on three or four plays. That’s it. Puni does not lose; he looks sharp, whether he’s 1-on-1 in the passing game or climbing to the second level in the running game and everything in between.

Pun, but early returns already point to this being a really always looks comfortable. It helps to be a superb athlete. Look at how wide his base is, how easy it is for Puni to redirect or play with good leverage, and how he uses his length to his advantage.

As Puni learns to harness his aggression when he pulls and makes contact on the correct shoulder instead of decapitating the defender—which is never a bad thing—the sky is the limit for the third-rounder.

There’s a lot to like about Puni’s game, and he’s given the coaching staff little reason to pull him from the starting lineup.

Malik Mustapha

Mustapha has primarily played safety with the second team. He covered a few kicks in each preseason game. That’ll likely be the rookie’s role if Talanoa Hufanga returns to form.

Mustapha has primarily played safety with the second team. He covered a few kicks in each preseason game. That’ll likely be the rookie’s role if Talanoa Hufanga returns to form.

Fifty-eight of Mustapha’s 86 snaps have been at free safety. So it’s clear that the 49ers want to see if Malik has range. He’s an impact hitter. There’s no denying that. Mustapha was 1-on-1 in the slot against Olave and delivered a jarring hit.

Mustapha is better in the box, which is likely why the 49ers want to see what he looks like playing deep—they know what he can do physically near the line of scrimmage.

Jacob Cowing

Seeing a 49er receiver get open and do so consistently against the Saints was refreshing. Cowing played 56 snaps, but contrary to what we might think, most of those were lined up wide. Only 15 of Cowing’s snaps came in the slot.

We all know how imperative it is for receivers to block in this offense. Cowing was flagged for a holding, but I wouldn’t fault him too much for that play. Sure, he could have done a better job of working his way to the outside, but the defender had him beaten based on alignment before the ball was snapped. It happens.

Cowing is a player who can get to top-end speed in a hurry, accelerate right by you, and continue to move at a 4.3 pace while changing directions without slowing down. He had a long reception that should have been a touchdown on a double move, but there were a couple of other non-targeted plays where Cowing was open at the intermediate level.

His biggest no-no was on a screen pass where Cowing decided to reverse course and cut back across the middle of the field. This is not the Pac-12. Everybody is fast at this level. We won’t see that again from Cowing. Otherwise, it was a promising debut for the fourth-rounder.

I don’t have much to add on Jarett Kingston or Tatum Bethune, the sixth and seventh-round picks from the 2024 draft class. Bethune will likely be on the plan for every linebacker the 49ers draft—redshirt the first year and compete for one of the starting jobs in Year 2. Bethune is aggressive and made a couple of run stops, but coverage has hindered him as it was at Florida State.