A look at my key camp battles, & 5 players under the most pressure to perform this offseason

With 49ers OTAs underway, I think it’s time to look at my key camp battles, as well as what players are under the most pressure the produce this offseason/preseason.

First up are the 49ers camp battles.

#1 Quarterback:

The 49ers have 3 players who will compete for their starting QB spot, Brock Purdy, Trey Lance, & Sam Darnold, and it’ll be interesting to see if/when Brock is back, how the 49ers will split reps up between the 3 of them, as the 49ers have 3 starting quality QBs in these 3, if I had to choose, I’m taking Purdy based off of last year, but I can’t discount or count out either Lance, or Darnold, so buckle up, get your popcorn ready, cause it’s gonna be a show, yes I just quoted Terrell Owens lol.

#4 Running Back:

The 49ers have a plethora of backs in camp this year, we all know Christian McCaffrey, Elijah Mitchell, & Jordan Mason are likely penciled in as #1, #2, & #3 RBs respectively of course, but we have some real competition for the 4^th RB spot, Tyrion Davis-Price, Ronald Awatt, & Khalan Laborn all battling it out, and so far this is a tough one to predict, so If I had to take a stab at it as of now, I’m going to go with Tyrion Davis-Price, as the 49ers invested a 3^rd-round pick in him, and it would be tough to have to cut another 3^rd round running back a year after cutting Trey Sermon.

#6 Wide Receiver:

I have the 49ers keeping 6 WRs, with Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, Ray-Ray McCloud III, & Danny Gray as locks to make the roster as of now, so battling for that 6^th WR spot will be the likes of 7^th-rounder Ronnie Bell, Chris Conley, & Willie Snead IV, and this is a tough one, as Conley has $400,000 guaranteed, and Snead has $250,000 guaranteed, but like we saw last year with Malik Turner, & Marcus Johnson, who both had a good portion of their base salaries guaranteed, it means nothing, so I’m going with the guy who’s on a 4-year, rookie deal, a cheap deal, in Ronnie Bell, as of now.

#2 & #3 Tight Ends:

I do have 3^rd-round pick Cameron Latu, & 7^th-round pick Brayden Willis as locks to make the team, so really you’d think their isn’t a competition here, but everyone needs to earn their spot, so Latu, Willis will battle out with the likes of Ross Dwelley, Charlie Woerner, & Troy Fumagalli, and if I had to choose someone who may make it as a possible 4^th TE, it’s Ross Dwelley, only because he has $700,000 guaranteed.

Starting Right Tackle & Swing Tackle:

The 49ers re-signed Colton McKivitz to a 2-year deal, while they also have Jaylon Moore, free agent signee Matt Pryor, & UDFAs like Ilm Manning, & Joey Fisher, who may be best suited for the interior offensive line, but these 5 players should be in the mix for not only the starting RT spot, but also who the Swing Tackle will be.

3^rd-5^th Defensive Ends/EDGE Rushers:

The 49ers have two good EDGE rushers in Nick Bosa, & former 2^nd-round pick Drake Jackson, who looks like a totally new person/player, so those 2 are penciled in as the starters, but the rest of the EDGE rushers are up for grabs, with the likes of free agent signees Clelin Ferrell, & Austin Bryant, who have significant guaranteed money, along with Kerry Hyder Jr., & Robert Beal Jr. all competing for those final 3 spots, with my money on Ferrell, Bryant, & Beal early on, but if the 49ers think they need a 6^th EDGE/11^th DL then look for Hyder to get that spot, especially since Hyder has versatility to play DE, & DT.

Starting Strongside Linebacker & Backup Linebackers:

The 49ers have a plethora of linebackers, with MLB Fred Warner, & WLB Dre Greenlaw as locks, along with special teamer Oren Burks as a lock in my eyes, but Burks will get a shot to win the SLB spot, along with Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, who has $1.25 million of his $1.825 million cap number fully guaranteed, 6^th-rounder Dee Winters, 7^th-rounder Jalen Graham, and former UDFA Marcelino McCrary-Ball, but that’s not the only spot up for grabs, as the team needs backups, so all of these players will have a shot at the 2 backup LB spots open in my eyes, with Winters & Graham being my early front runner for starting SLB, and backup LB spot, along with Burks.

4^th & 5^th Cornerbacks:

The starting cornerback spots look to be locked up, with Charvarius Ward, & Deommodore Lenoir being the outside corners, with Isaiah Oliver as the nickelback/slot corner, which leaves the following competing for the primary backup spots, Samuel Womack III, 5^th-rounder Darrell Luter Jr., Ambry Thomas, while D’Shawn Jamison, & Qwuantrezz Knight having a small chance, but I view Womack, & Luter as locks to make this squad, and if the team keeps a 6^th CB, Thomas would be the choice, but he needs to show something, anything to prove he wasn’t a back pick.

Place Kicker:

Ok, so this really shouldn’t be a battle, as the 49ers invested a 3^rd-rounder in Michigan PK Jake Moody, but the 49ers also have Zane Gonzalez, who they acquired in a trade with Carolina, but you don’t invest the kind of draft capital in Moody to end up cutting him, so Moody is the guy going into 2023, but don’t be shocked if they get Gonzalez to sign to the teams’ practice squad.

Now, my top 5 players with the most pressure to show something this offseason to keep their roster spot.

1. DT Javon Kinlaw – Kinlaw needs a strong camp to keep his spot on the rotation, and there should be a small chance the 49ers offload Kinlaw, in order to keep Hyder or a T.Y. McGill Jr.
2. CB Ambry Thomas – Thomas was good his rookie year, but 2-years later, he just hasn’t been good, relegated to special teams, and with the Darrell Luter Jr. pick, it seems Ambry’s days are numbered.
3. TE Charlie Woerner – Woerner, a former 6^th-round pick, has an uphill battle, especially after the team drafted two TEs in Cameron Latu, & Brayden Willis, so in my eyes, plus the team gave Ross Dwelley $700,000 fully guaranteed, so Woerner’s best shot is if someone gets hurt, or the team keeps 4 TEs.
4. RB Tyrion Davis-Price – TDP was a 3^rd-round pick in 2022, a real shock of a pick, as the team had Trey Sermon, former 2021 3^rd-round pick, plus others on the roster, but a year later, Sermon is gone, and TDP needs to have a strong offseason to make the final 53, because right now it’s CMC, Mitchell, & Mason as the 3 backs who should be active each week, which means where does Davis-Price fit in? Especially if he’s not going to be active.
5. RT Jaylon Moore – My last player who needs a good offseason is Jaylon Moore, who I have making it as of now, but will face competition from Matt Pryor, and Moore is so inconsistent, as he has a good play, then a bad play, and so on so forth, so Moore needs to really show he’s worth keeping.

Thank you for reading, and follow me on Twitter @49erscap.

About Author

Jason Hurley

Die Hard 49ers fan from New York, been covering the 49ers salary cap since 2005, with several different websites, including NinersNation.com, & the now defunct NinerCapHell, I have a track record of being as accurate as possible, & I try to be as thorough as possible.

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