What happened during Day 12 of 49ers training camp on Wednesday?
The San Francisco 49ers concluded their 12th and final day of training camp on Wednesday, which was one of their more intense practices as they now set their focus towards the first gameday of the year with a preseason game against the Tennessee Titans coming up on Saturday.
San Francisco brought back the 1-on-1s, as well as an extensive move-the-period, in a scrimmage-heavy practice, so there’s still much to take away as they wrapped up camp.
If you missed it, here are my three quick takeaways from what I saw on Day 12 of training camp.
Now, let’s get into my notes and observations of what unfolded on Wednesday.
Cornerbacks stay the same
I’ve been keeping an eye out on second-round rookie Renardo Green throughout camp, looking to see his progression and how the 49ers utilized him and his smaller frame.
To begin, he was primarily with the second-team defense, working as the backup slot cornerback.
But as camp continued, Green got some reps sprinkled in with the top defense, specifically when Charvarius Ward had rest days. This allowed him to get some usage with the top defense, where he was still primarily seen as a nickel corner.
The rookie started getting outside reps, though, when working with the second-team defense, which is a role I believe he can play after watching his college tape, given how sticky he is in press coverage.
Well, over the last two days, Green has worked exclusively with the first-team defense, as Isaac Yiadom has missed practice. This allows him to work alongside Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir.
On Tuesday, those opportunities primarily came in the nickel, with Deommodore Lenoir kicking out, although there were some reps where Green played on the outside as well.
On Wednesday, it was flipped, as Green played nearly all of his snaps on the outside with Lenoir in the slot in an interesting look by the defense.
The 49ers made the selection knowing they not only would have a competition for the third corner spot in 2024 but also given the fact that it was unlikely both Ward and Lenoir would return next year, as they are both scheduled to be free agents.
That made it imperative to know more about Green and where he could stick this offseason, with the initial thought of his future position being at the nickel. But it seems the team is starting to feel more confident that he can play on the outside as well, providing versatility and quality depth to the defense.
Throws up the sideline
One of the recurring themes of Wednesday’s practice, be it in regular team drills or during the move-the-ball session, was the quarterbacks throwing balls up the sidelines to pass-catchers.
That was seen on several occasions as the offense experimented with different looks, sending tight ends and fullbacks up the sidelines on leaks, which usually created an open receiver to throw the ball to.
Brock Purdy threw an interception in the direction of George Odum while looking to hit Jordan Mason, who had come open on a wheel running up the sidelines. Purdy was a little late on the ball and overthrew it, allowing the safety coming over the top to take away the pass.
Purdy later found Kyle Juszczyk on a very similar play during the move-the-ball period, getting a good gain off the completion to get well into opponent territory.
Later, Brandon Allen found Jake Tonges deep up the sidelines after the tight end beat linebacker Ezekiel Turner on the route. This was during the move-the-ball period as well.
Purdy looked for Juszczyk again up the sidelines, this time firing to his right side, but this ball was more of a 50/50 chance with the fullback working against Rock Ya-Sin, who broke up the pass.
Josh Dobbs threw a deep ball up the sidelines as well, hitting Tay Martin, who made a nice grab during one of the final series of the day, marking for another explosive play.
Of the three quarterbacks, it seemed like Brandon Allen was targeting the area the most, but those routes seemed like a point of emphasis on the final day, with the quarterbacks making an effort to hit those throws.
Separation concerns
Through the two weeks of training camp, the separation concerns still remain an issue for the 49ers receivers.
While the team has dealt with its fair share of injuries at the position, with Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall, Jacob Cowing, Danny Gray, Tay Martin, and others all missing some time, the group was healthy for the most part on Wednesday, and the issues continued.
There were several times where Brock Purdy was forced to throw into tight windows because the coverage was too good, leading to pressure coming.
In practice, sacks don’t matter, and Purdy can look to force throws to learn about things he can and can’t do in the games.
However, it was a constant practice on Wednesday where the quarterback would look at his first two reads, which weren’t open, and then get “sacked” because he took too long in the pocket.
In the regular season, San Francisco will need a better solution to better protect their quarterback because you don’t want Purdy in the backfield for a significant period of time while pressure mounts from the defense.
It’s clear the 49ers are missing their best separator with Brandon Aiyuk away from the team. Apart from him, there aren’t many elite or above-average separators on the team and it shows, especially with the number of vertical routes being run across the board.
Last year, the offense was as explosive as ever because Purdy averaged 9.6 yards per attempt. With this current iteration of the 49ers team, it seems tough to come to that mark once again this year.
Rotation at C
The 49ers have seen a couple of different rotations with the offensive line this training camp with players such as Trent Williams, Jake Brendel, Jon Feliciano, and Spencer Burford all missing time at some point.
But, even with the different injuries, the rotations at most positions have remained fluid… except center.
At the beginning of camp, Brendel was the starter, but Feliciano took a few first-team reps while playing more center than right guard with the backups.
Then, Feliciano got hurt, while Brendel took some rest days to manage the knee issues that caused him to miss parts of minicamp and organized team activities (OTAs).
However, upon returning to the lineup, Brendel has been the top center. He’s not the only one taking first-team reps.
Nick Zakelj and Ben Bartch have both seen some reps at center with the top team, including on Wednesday, with Feliciano out.
It seems that it’s mainly for maintaining health heading into the season, but that position is one to monitor in the preseason, as the two backups could be fighting for one spot come 53-man roster time.