There is more competition on the 49ers’ roster than in years past as training camp approaches
With the calendar turning to July comes the start of the serious business as the 49ers prepare for the 2025 season.
San Francisco’s rookies will report for training camp on July 15, with the whole team following on July 22.
This year, there is more competition for places on the 49er roster, and there are several position battles that will take place during camp and preseason that will have a huge impact on San Francisco’s 2025 fortunes.
The Niners, of course, want the best possible option at every spot on the depth chart, but there are five position battles that stand out as the most important going into training camp.
5. Left guard
There is only position on the offensive line where the starter is set to change, with Aaron Banks’ departure in free agency leaving the left guard spot vacant.
Injuries and inconsistent play over the last two seasons meant Banks was never likely to be signed to a second contract. However, after finding an upgrade at right guard last year in the form of third-round pick Dominick Puni, it’s vital whoever steps in for Banks also raises the level of performance on the other side.
The favorite for the job is Ben Bartch, who is well liked by offensive line coach Chris Foerster and impressed in very limited snaps last season before injury ended his campaign.
Also in the mix is Spencer Burford, a former starter at right guard, while Nick Zakelj and rookies Connor Colby and Drew Moss will want to make an impression.
But Bartch and Burford have the most starting experience of those in the running, giving them the edge as the 49ers seek dependability up front. After a 2024 season in which injuries left the offensive line in tatters, the 49ers need a left guard who they can trust to keep Brock Purdy clean and hold up over the course of a 17-game campaign.
4. Special Teams
The 49ers’ special teams endured a nightmare season in 2024, finishing the year 31st in DVOA.
San Francisco has made several key decisions this offseason in a bid to address that failing, chief among them releasing punter Mitch Wishnowsky and adding veteran Thomas Morstead.
In addition, the 49ers also spent their final pick in the draft on a return specialist in Junior Bergen and signed kicker Greg Joseph to compete with Jake Moody after the 2023 third-round pick’s dreadful 2024.
The 49ers need to be able to have confidence in their ability to come away with points when in plus territory. Moody didn’t give them that last season, and now faces a competition with Joseph that may have an outsized influence on San Francisco’s 2025 fortunes.
Meanwhile Bergen’s fight to make the roster figures to be a fascinating one to watch. He scored eight punt return touchdowns in college at Montana. The 49ers haven’t scored on a punt return since 2011 and are without a kick return score since 2018. Bergen’s battle to get in a position to change that will be one of the more intriguing storylines to track in training camp.
3. Defensive tackle
Assuming the 49ers eventually agree to terms with Alfred Collins on his rookie contract, the second-round pick will be expected to take one of the two starting defensive tackle spots.
The onus will likely be on fourth-round pick CJ West to prove he is worthy of the other right off the bat.
San Francisco will likely kick the likes of Mykel Williams, Yetur Gross-Matos and Sam Okuayinonu inside on pass-rushing downs, but the 49ers’ investment in the defensive tackle position in the draft was predominantly about improving the run defense.
To get the chance to help the Niners do that as a starter, West will need to beat out his main competition, likely to be veteran Jordan Elliott.
Elliott was ineffective against the run and added very little as a pass rusher in his first season with the 49ers.
Though run-stuffer Evan Anderson and Kevin Givens will also operate as part of the rotation, it is in the 49ers’ best interests for West to prove he should start ahead of Elliott immediately.
West has already received high praise from defensive line coach Kris Kocurek, who said of the former Indiana defender: “His ability to be able to strike and win contact and jolt that contact and control blockers with his hands, and then his ability to shed and escape blockers. As a young dude coming from college, it’s advanced for where he’s at this stage in his career. … It’s obviously something that really drew us to him.”
If West can convince the 49ers he is advanced enough to be able to start, it would be a huge boost for San Francisco.
2. WILL Linebacker
Last year, the 49ers went with the experience of De’Vondre Campbell at WILL linebacker amid Dre Greenlaw’s injury-enforced absence, and that decision proved a significant mistake.
Campbell was consistently a step slow and struggled in coverage. His presence as a three-down starter ahead of Dee Winters made little sense, and Campbell’s season ended when he refused to go into the 49ers’ Week 15 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams.
This season, with Greenlaw gone, the 49ers don’t really have a veteran to turn to as they seek to fill the spot next to All-Pro MIKE linebacker Fred Warner.
So it is likely to come down to a battle between Winters and rookie third-round pick Nick Martin, two extremely athletic young players who can produce Greenlaw-like plays in pursuit and have significant potential in coverage because of their speed.
It’s difficult to ask any player of their limited experience to step in and replicate Greenlaw’s impact, but the 49ers can’t afford to have the position be the black hole it was in his absence last year. One of Winters or Martin needs step up and fill the void, and it is critical the 49ers make the right decision when determining who has won the position battle.
1. Third cornerback
The 49ers had potential opportunities to fortify their depth at corner behind Renardo Green and Deommodore Lenoir, but they elected not to take them, seemingly deciding against signing Jaire Alexander or making a trade for Jalen Ramsey.
While Alexander and Ramsey likely would not have been content with being a third corner, the options behind Green and Lenoir are somewhat unconvincing.
The decision the 49ers face may end up being a choice between playing using rookie third-rounder Upton Stout as a full-time nickel and having Lenoir play outside full-time, or going with Tre Brown as the outside starter on base downs when Lenoir kicks inside.
Potentially picking between a rookie and a veteran with only 13 starts in four seasons is a choice the 49ers might not relish making. However, they will understand the importance of getting it right, having had issues with both Isaiah Oliver and Ambry Thomas playing the third corner role in 2023 and gotten unconvincing play from Isaac Yiadom in the same capacity last season.
The 49ers’ task of turning around their defense will be substantially harder if there is a corner on whom defenses can pick on at will on the field. With how often the 49ers are in their nickel defense, the likely contest between Stout and Brown stands as clearly the most important position battle for training camp.