The NFL Draft is over, the trades have been made and free agency is petering out. It’s time to look ahead to the point — whenever that may be — when practices start up and the competition for roster spots begins.
The following is a look at the 49ers’ 90-man roster along with a peek at where the best competitions will be found. Receiver is particularly intriguing, especially if everyone is healthy when the team makes its final decisions.
Including the trade that landed Emmanuel Sanders last year, the 49ers have dumped a huge amount of draft resources into the position over the last three years: One first-round pick, two second-round picks, two third-round picks, a fourth-rounder and two seventh-rounders. Sanders is off the roster and some other selections likely will be gone, too.
Let’s break it down, position by position. (* Rookie)
Quarterback (4): Jimmy Garoppolo, Nick Mullens, C.J. Beathard, Broc Rutter*
The regular-season storyline revolves entirely around Garoppolo and whether he can take a step forward by reducing his bad throw/interception totals from a year ago. The offseason storyline? For a second straight year, it involves Mullens and Beathard and their competition to be the top backup.
As the No. 4 passer, Rutter won’t get many opportunities to distinguish himself in practice. Practice squads, however, will expand from 10 to 12 players this year. And with both Beathard (unrestricted free agent in March) and Mullens (restricted free agent in March) entering the final year of their contracts, it might be smart to keep a young passer around in 2020.
Best battle: Mullens won the competition a year ago based largely on his superior 2018 stint as the starter. But Beathard is Shanahan’s hand-picked quarterback, and he’ll likely have the same opportunity he had last year to wrestle away the No. 2 job. Though Beathard is the best deep-ball thrower of the bunch, the offense no longer has its best deep-ball threat — Marquise Goodwin — and seems geared even more toward slants, crossing routes and catch-and-run opportunities. That, of course, matches Garoppolo’s strengths, but it also seems to help Mullens more than Beathard.
Running back (8): Tevin Coleman, Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson, Jerick McKinnon, Salvon Ahmed*, JaMycal Hasty*, Kyle Juszczyk (fullback), Josh Hokit* (fullback)
There was some question this spring as to whether the team would cut Coleman in order to create some needed salary-cap space. After trading Matt Breida, Coleman now seems like a virtual roster lock, as does Mostert. After that, the 49ers need to find one, possibly two, more tailbacks for the active roster. (The 49ers began the 2019 season with three, then elevated Wilson from the practice squad following a Week 1 injury to Coleman. All four were in uniform for the Super Bowl.)
Best battle: Wilson has become a fan favorite because he routinely turns his scant opportunities into big plays. He was targeted once in the Super Bowl and he turned it into a 20-yard gain. The 49ers, however, probably are hoping McKinnon grabs that third spot. Shanahan signed him two years ago with the thought he’d be a passing-game nightmare for opposing defenses and would love it if he finally fulfills that vision.
If McKinnon can’t overcome the knee issues that have bothered him the last two seasons, Ahmed and Hasty could enter the equation. Running backs coach Bobby Turner has a long history of finding gems late in the draft or after the draft. Ahmed or Hasty could be his next find even if they have to start the year on the practice squad like Wilson did.
Receiver (12): Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk*, Kendrick Bourne, Trent Taylor, Jalen Hurd, Dante Pettis, Jauan Jennings*, Travis Benjamin, Richie James, Chris Finke*, Shawn Poindexter, Chris Thompson
The 49ers’ top 3 seem set in Samuel, Aiyuk and Bourne, who could receive a contract extension if he begins the 2020 season the way he finished the previous one. If this were a normal year, you’d probably be able to ink Aiyuk’s name into Sanders’ former starting spot for Week 1. It’s a bit up in the air now considering we don’t know how abridged the offseason will be because of coronavirus concerns, which is something that would impact rookies the most.
Best battle: The 49ers usually keep six receivers on the active roster, and the next three spots largely will be determined by health. If Taylor and Hurd fully recover from the injuries that plagued them in 2019, they are easy assumptions to make the team. The last spot could come down to an early-round receiver with a finesse-based game, Pettis, vs. a late-round receiver whose game is all about muscle and power, Jennings.
Pettis is one of the most intriguing figures of the group. Shanahan has been doing everything in his power to push Pettis into becoming more of a tiger on the field. If he can do that, the 49ers would have someone to push Aiyuk for playing time. If not, Pettis could be heading for an early exit.
Finally, it’s easy to overlook Benjamin, whom the 49ers signed to a low-cost free-agent deal last month. However, he has two things the 49ers might need at receiver: speed and experience. The 30-year-old Benjamin also can return punts.
Tight end (5): George Kittle, Ross Dwelley, Charlie Woerner*, Daniel Helm, Chase Harrell*
At one point this offseason, the Chicago Bears had 10 tight ends on the roster. The 49ers have half that number. The most interesting conundrum may involve Dwelley. As of now, he’s the No. 2 tight end, the guy who would enter the game when Kittle goes out. The 49ers want to upgrade that position and there are a number of players available in free agency (Delanie Walker, for instance) or through a trade (David Njoku, for instance) who could be available. At the same time, the 49ers have precious little salary-cap space.
Best battle: Sixth-round draft pick Woerner will battle Helm to take over the blocking-tight end role that Levine Toilolo had in 2019. The 49ers didn’t add Helm until after training camp had begun last year. Still, he was impressive enough to prompt the team to release draft pick Kaden Smith during the season. Helm spent most of the year on the practice squad before being elevated to the active roster in December.
Offensive line (16): Trent Williams, Mike McGlinchey, Laken Tomlinson, Weston Richburg, Tom Compton, Daniel Brunskill, Ben Garland, Colton McKivitz*, Shon Coleman, Justin Skule, Ross Reynolds, Kofi Amichia, Jake Brendel, Jaryd Jones-Smith, Ray Smith, Leonard Wester
The 49ers kept eight offensive linemen on the active roster last year. That number could go up by one this year considering that active rosters go from 53 to 55 players under the new collective bargaining agreement while game-day rosters will go from 46 to 48 so long as one is an extra offensive lineman.
Best battle: Four starters are set: Williams at left tackle, Tomlinson at left guard, Richburg at center and McGlinchey at right tackle. Who takes over Mike Person’s former spot at right guard? There are several candidates. The 49ers signed long-time veteran Tom Compton in free agency. He’ll be challenged by Brunskill and perhaps fifth-round pick McKivitz, who mainly played tackle at West Virginia. A dark horse is Reynolds, who spent all of last season on the practice squad.
There’s also a good competition to be the swing tackle, which could turn into a starting role next season if Williams doesn’t sign an extension. Coleman, Skule, McKivitz and Brunskill are candidates at that spot. There are a lot of unfamiliar names on the list above that are easy to dismiss in April. It’s worth noting that Brunskill was in that category last year and he ended up starting seven games