San Francisco 49ers Position Battles Continue Into Second Preseason Game

San Francisco 49ers rookie fifth-round pick Samuel Womack opened his NFL career by intercepting Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love twice in Friday’s preseason opener.

A third-round selection this past spring, wide receiver Danny Gray caught a 76-yard touchdown bomb from young quarterback Trey Lance. Meanwhile, another rookie in Spencer Burford had some highlight-reel blocks.

These three rookies are in the midst of position battles as San Francisco prepares for joint practices with the Minnesota Vikings and ultimately a preseason game in the Twin Cities on Saturday. Let’s check in on updated 49ers position battles with two exhibition affairs remaining.

Danny Gray And Ray-Ray McCloud Competing For Playing Time

Starters will not play in Minnesota this coming weekend. Instead, head coach Kyle Shanahan plans on getting Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk some time in the preseason finale against the Houston Texans the following week.

This gives both Gray and McCloud ample opportunities to prove that they should see consistent action during the regular season. Both stood out big time in the 28-21 win over Green Bay.

Gray played limited snaps. But he made the most of them. The third-round pick from Southern Methodist caught two passes for 99 yards, including a 76-yard strike from Lance.

Lance has been finding a solid relationship with his young pass-catcher during the summer. The quarterback joked about what the speedy Gray brings to the table following the game, saying “his speed is something I’ve had maybe one other time in my life.”

As for McCloud, San Francisco signed him to a team-friendly two-year, $4 million contract in the offseason despite showing explosive play-making ability for the Steelers last season. He displayed that big time Friday evening, too. That included catching a 39-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Nade Sudfeld.

McCloud is involved in a competition for the top slot position with former seventh-round pick Jauan Jennings, who has had a case of the drops during the summer. Jennings did nothing of substance against Green Bay, leading to the belief that McCloud could have an edge in the battle.

It will be interesting to see how many snaps each of these players are on the field for Saturday against Minnesota. That could tell us all we need to know about the competition.

Samual Womack Making A Name For Himself

With both Charvarius Ward and Emmanuel Moseley sitting out Friday’s game due to minor injuries, youngsters got a chance to step up for San Francisco.

No one made more of his opportunity than Samuel Womack, a rookie fifth-round pick out of Toledo. The 5-foot-10 cornerback had been impressive during training camp practices. But seeing him transfer that to live-game action was eye-opening.

Womack intercepted Packers quarterback Jordan Love twice in the game. The second pick displayed textbook technique and ball-tracking ability.

“I’ve seen him (Womack) make those plays in games and I’ve seen him make those plays in practice. So it wasn’t a surprise he was sticky in coverage,” 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans told reporters on Sunday. “He was exactly where he needs to be. A small player making really big-time plays for us.”

Veteran Darqueze Dennard is listed as San Francisco’s starting slot guy in their unofficial first depth chart of the summer. But the 49ers would obviously love to see Womack earn the job given his upside and the fact that Dennard is 30 years old and has played all of 19 games over the past three seasons.

It’s an interesting dynamic to look at. Veteran corner Jason Verrett re-signed with the 49ers after suffering a torn ACL early in the 2021 season. He could play a role in the slot competition. The same thing could be said about second-year players Ambry Thomas and Deommodore Lenoir despite the former being seen as more of a boundary guy.

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Mixed Results For Spencer Burford And Interior of San Francisco 49ers Offensive Line

At times Friday evening in Santa Clara, Burford looked like a legit starting guard in his preseason debut. He manhandled defenders on runs and showed a bit of good in pass protection.

Unfortunately, Burford struggled with technique and allowed four pressures during his time on the field. The right guard spot has proven to be problematic for San Francisco this summer. With veteran Daniel Brunskill out for a few weeks to injury, that’s magnified further.

On the left side, 2021 second-round pick Aaron Banks excelled big time in pass protection. The former Notre Dame standout did not allow a single pressure Friday night and has been San Francisco’s best offensive linemen outside of star left tackle Trent Williams during the summer.

It also looks like former undrafted free agent Jake Brendel has earned the starting center job at this point. He’ll replace the recently-retired Alex Mack as an important cog in front of Lance. Brandel has been super impressive during camp.

Other San Francisco 49ers Preseason Notes

It’s too early to say that former first-round pick Mike McGlinchey is battling for the starting right tackle spot. Returning from injury this past Friday, the Notre Dame product was an absolute disaster in all phases of the game. He just didn’t look like a starter-caliber player going up against Packers backup defenders. One has to wonder if 2021 first-round pick Jaylon Moore could challenge McGlinchey once he returns from injury here soon.

Speaking of injuries, running back Elijah Mitchell sat out Friday’s preseason opener with a minor hamstring issue. Trey Sermon got the start in his stead, going for 11 yards on six attempts behind poor run blocking.

Rookie Tyrion Davis-Price looked better than his counterpart, going for 36 yards on 10 attempts while showing the necessary decision-making out of the backfield. Meanwhile, JaMychal Hasty had 36 yards on five attempts against deep reserves.

I am intrigued to see how this rotation plays out Saturday against Minnesota. An argument could be made that Hasty is battling for a spot on the 53 with fellow former undrafted free agent Jeff Wilson Jr.

Another rookie in Drake Jackson showed flashes out on the edge for San Francisco Friday before going down with a shoulder injury. After initial concerns over the severity of the injury, the 49ers gave a sigh of relief when it was determined he suffered a mere stinger.

Jackson could very well be battling with Samson Ebukam for playing time opposite Nick Bosa this season. The second-round pick from USCSC
impressed the powers that be in his limited action Friday evening.

“Drake did some good things that translate to us winning games. When it comes to him on the boot play with the quarterback rolling out, him being able to attack the throwing arm, affecting the throw, not allowing the quarterback to follow through,” Ryans told reporters after the game. “His effort on a play over on their sideline chasing down a quarterback. Those things translate to us winning games, the effort, attacking the throwing arm, those things can help us win games. We’re expecting even more out of him.”

As for Jimmy Garoppolo, there’s no further updates on his status. San Francisco is still trying to find a trade partner for the Super Bowl quarteback. He has not practiced during training camp and was not present for the 49ers’ preseason opener at Levi’s on Friday.