The Niners are loaded at cornerbacks and short on quarterbacks. My, how things change.
SANTA CLARA — Football was back, and now it’s gone again.
Contrary to popular belief, the NFL has an offseason—it’s just a short period of time between May and June’s minicamps and July’s training camp.
So, let’s make a mountain out of a molehill with that minicamp. After all, it’s all we’ll have for the next few weeks.
Here were the studs and duds of spring football.
STUDS
Ricky Pearsall
» There’s no confirmation bias or grading on the curve here — Pearsall looks the part. It wouldn’t shock me at all if the rookie had more than 50 catches this season.
And that’s even if Brandon Aiyuk shows up to work.
You cannot teach the kind of suddenness or ability to separate that Pearsall displayed in OTAs and minicamp. And while it was non-padded practice, it’s difficult to envision it not translating to the field once hard plastic becomes involved.
The 49ers receiver corps, even without Aiyuk, is deeper than ever. Deebo Samuel is incentivized to have the best year of his career, Jauan Jennings has a new contract and, lest we forget, was going to be the Super Bowl a few months ago and the rookies, Pearsall and even the speedy Jacob Cowing, are keen to make an immediate impact. And say what you will about Trent Taylor, but he still has NFL value. That’s five. Aiyuk makes it six. That’s a loaded room. And it does not have room for Ronnie Bell, Danny Gray, or Chris Conley (though I’d expect Conley to be on the practice squad).
Aiyuk is sitting at home, making more money by the day. Good for him. And I have no problem with the 49ers using their one point of leverage in negotiation — the ability to walk away — to its full advantage.
No one will take Aiyuk’s job as the team’s No. 1 receiver — the X in Kyle Shanahan’s offense — but Pearsall will play the role until Aiyuk arrives in Santa Clara.
And don’t be shocked if the Niners are just fine with that for a while.
Renardo Green
» It’s almost unfair. Green has been outstanding in the Niners’ spring practices — sticky, physical, and cerebral; the second-round cornerback has a chance to be really special with immediate effect.
But because of Pearsall’s excellence, Green’s play has been overshadowed.
I’ll bet my bottom dollar (that won’t require me to dig too long), that the Niners nailed their top two picks in 2024.
The further you are away from the ball, the less I need to see of you in pads to know if you can play or not. Pearsall can play. Green is right there with him.
But he won’t be starting in Week 1.
Isaac Yiadom
» This guy will, though.
The free-agent cornerback didn’t make waves when he put pen to paper in Santa Clara, but Niners defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen thinks Yiadom did sign his 1-year deal ($3 million) and then go work out.
It seems to have worked out for him. With Charvarius Ward sidelined this spring, Yiadom has repped as the team’s No. 1 cornerback and looked like a No. 1 cornerback.
“He’s very technical. He’s very strong,” Sorensen told me. “I think he’s a guy that’s also—like we talk about Mooney [Ward] being strong and a tackler—he’s got that in his history as well. He’s a tough guy. He’s physical. He plays with his hands. He’s violent. He communicates. He sees things before they happen, and that stuff has shown up.”
The Niners have four cornerbacks worthy of starting. Ward, Green, Yiadom, and Deommodore Lenoir.
This might be the best CB unit in the league.
My, how far we’ve come.
DUDS
Brandon Allen and Josh Dobbs
» Here’s a proclamation: If Brock Purdy goes down, the Niners are cooked this season.
The backup quarterback position might feature two veteran names, but watching them both over the last few practices, I see there’s little to nothing to like between them.
Allen has arm strength, but his accuracy was comically woeful in practice.
Dobbs can run a bit, but his windup is Tebow-like. Not good.
The Niners made a big mistake in not drafting a quarterback. I haven’t seen anything from Tanner Mordecai suggesting he can be something this season. But at this point, he might be the best option.
You would have thought the 49ers, more than any other team, would have known the value of the backup quarterback. They have smart guys for the room, but I seriously doubt Allen or Dobbs can win the 49ers a game, much less a few, should No. 13 miss time.
Ambry Thomas
» The non-veteran cornerback didn’t do anything to disqualify himself from this team — he was the No. 2 corner in minicamp — but there is a distinct possibility that he does not make this team at the end of training camp. There’s too much depth.
Thomas is the player I’ll be watching most intently in July.
Someone in the running back room
» Along those same lines, the running back room is stacked, meaning someone who is good to quite good will be cut at the end of training camp.
Elijah Mitchell is going to make the team, barring injury. He looked fresh this spring, and he’s an excellent back.
And draft pick Isaac Guerendo — the second-coming of Raheem Mostert, only this time with pass-catching ability — is on the roster, too.
There’s someone else I’m certain will make it… oh yeah, that McCaffrey guy.
But that leaves two spots (max) for three solid players: Jordan Mason, Cody Schrader, and Patrick Taylor.
The latter hasn’t been talked up much (if at all), but I really liked how he looked in less-than-informative circumstances. We’ll see in July and August if there’s anything there.
But we know who Mason is and Schrader has looked fantastic in 7-on-7s. I don’t need to tell you the SEC’s top running back last year deserves a fair NFL shot.
They can’t all make it. This is a champagne problem, to be sure, but a problem nevertheless.
