The 49ers have experienced of great change, creating more position battles than they have had in previous years.
The 49ers’ OTAs and minicamp are in the books, with preparations set to step up a gear late next month when San Francisco’s roster reconvenes at the team facility for training camp. When they do so, there will be a key difference compared to 2024.
It is a contrast that George Kittle articulated in a recent interview on ’The Pat McAfee Show’.
Talking about the 49ers’ attendance at phase one of the offseason program and thereafter, Kittle said:
“Everybody was there since Phase One. So, you just build those relationships a little bit quicker, get to see guys make plays. We have a ton of free agents. We have a ton of young guys. There’s some openings on our roster; that’s pretty obvious. We’ve had a lot of departures, key departures, and a lot of opportunities for young guys to step up and take advantage of those opportunities. Seeing those guys kind of make some cool plays during OTAs was kind of fun to see, and hopefully, that just carries over into camp.”
The key part of Kittle’s quote concerns the openings on the roster. While many would make the case that the 49ers’ roster is weaker for their high turnover this offseason, San Francisco has something it didn’t last year — clear competition for places.
Going into the 2024 campaign, the 49ers had no legitimate roster battles for places on the starting offense or defense. Dominick Puni, for as impressive as he was as a rookie, could be considered to have won the starting right guard role by default with Jon Feliciano injured.
Despite Dre Greenlaw’s injury, there was no competition at WILL linebacker as De’Vondre Campbell was handed the job in a highly dubious decision, while it wasn’t until the regular season began and injuries hit that Renardo Green and Malik Mustapha were able to force their way into the lineup at cornerback and safety.
This year it could hardly he more different. There are obvious battles at linebacker and cornerback, with Dee Winters and Nick Martin vying to start next to Fred Warner and Upton Stout and Tre Brown competing to be the third option at corner.
Though it’s accepted Alfred Collins and CJ West will have significant roles on the defensive line, the fight for playing time between that pair and the likes of Jordan Elliott and Evan Anderson will be crucial to the 49ers’ fortunes on that side of the ball. The picture at safety is more unclear with Mustapha likely out for Week 1 as he recovers from a torn ACL, and the 49ers’ depth options leave a little to be desired. Still, with Jason Pinnock and Richie Grant seemingly fighting to start next to Ji’Ayir Brown, there is at least competition.
On offense, most of the positions are set. Ben Bartch seems likely to be the starting left guard, but the tackle spots behind starters Trent Williams and Colton McKivitz are far from settled. Spencer Burford, Austen Pleasants and Andre Dillard figure to battle it out for those.
Meanwhile, at receiver, Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings, Demarcus Robinson and Jacob Cowing will all be vying for playing time in Brandon Aiyuk’s potential absence to start the season.
Pearsall and Jennings will be the favorites to start, but Robinson and Cowing each figure to be in the mix for regular snaps, with both having impressed in practices to this point.
Including the duel at kicker between Jake Moody and Greg Joseph, there are position battles all across the roster and, though there is a strong case to be made that the 49ers are weaker for the departures of the likes of Deebo Samuel, Javon Hargrave and Dre Greenlaw, having so much competition for places can only be a good thing.
Injuries and an undoubted Super Bowl hangover contributed to the 49ers’ dismal 6-11 season in 2024, but it can be argued that theirs was a roster on which there were a few players who were a little too comfortable in their roles, with the situation at linebacker with Campbell the best example of that.
Of course, most of the 49ers’ starters are in place for 2025, but there is much less comfort this year. This is a roster on which there are vacancies and plenty of players hoping to fill them. The axiom is that competition breeds excellence, and the 49ers will be hoping that rings true as they aim to return to contention this season.