San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks Trey Lance (5) and Sam Darnold (14) take part in a veteran mini-camp session on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in Santa Clara, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
SANTA CLARA – Let the record state that rookie Jake Moody’s first walk-off field goal came Wednesday, ending the 49ers’ minicamp practice.
Did the 49ers win the offseason?
Sure, let everyone eat cake Thursday at the team’s annual family picnic. Just know that when the 49ers report for training camp July 25, their Super Bowl aspirations should be stronger than ever.
Here are 10 things we learned from the 7 1/2-week offseason program:
1. QUARTERBACK OPTIONS
Nothing could be more encouraging than Brock Purdy’s recovery from elbow surgery. The fact he began a throwing program last week is ideal news, not just so he’s slightly ahead of schedule but it puts him on track to start the Sept. 10 season opener in Pittsburgh.
Meanwhile, Trey Lance and Sam Darnold looked more serviceable than sensational in practices.
Lance unveiled a crisper throwing motion and, more important, renewed mobility after last September’s ankle fracture. He scrambled on his second snap of 7-on-7 action Wednesday, after repeatedly seeking an open receiver. Darnold threw more accurately in the four practices open to the media, and although he saw some first-team snaps, he didn’t appear to unseat Lance as the QB1a option behind Purdy.
Darnold was 9-of-13 on Wednesday, with drops by Jauan Jennings and Chris Conley; Lance was 8-of-12, with one pass intercepted by defensive end Kerry Hyder Jr. and another pass dropped by Jennings. No. 4 QB Brandon Allen’s impressive spring ended with a 2-of-10 dud Wednesday.
2. INNOCENT BYSTANDERS
The never-ending quarterback drama isn’t tearing the 49ers apart, and left tackle Trent Williams isn’t fretting over who’s blindside he’ll protect.
“That’s a little bit above my pay grade,” said Williams, who, by the way, will draw a team-high $19.4 million salary this season. “Kyle (Shanahan) and them will get it done. I’ve got faith they’ll make the best decision.
“We have a good problem. We have three quarterbacks we have full trust in, and what Brock did last year can’t be questioned,” Williams added. “I’m just happy to have three able bodies back there that we know we can compete with.”
3. HARGRAVE’S ADDITION
Javon Hargrave looks like the missing link perhaps some didn’t know existed on the 49ers’ defensive front. Poached from the NFC-champion Eagles as a pricey free agent, Hargrave has a thick lower body but an explosive ability to rush from the interior. Wednesday, he chatted up Arik Armstead and Nick Bosa on the side; Javon Kinlaw was not seen at minicamp, by the way.
“He’s a heck of a playmaker,” Williams said of Hargrave, “and it sometimes seems unreal that we got a player like that to add to the type of defense we have.”
As for any awkwardness having dispatched the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, Hargrave said: “I spoke to all of them guys. Everyone welcomed me in. I’m on this side now so I don’t need to speak on that (game) anymore.”
4. BOSA’S CONFIDENCE
Bosa is still awaiting a contract extension that figures to make him the NFL’s highest-paid non-quarterback. That is expected to come by the end of July, and he doesn’t sound concerned about a potential stalemate.
He left his Fort Lauderdale enclave to show for minicamp, and that came with a goal-setting discussion with new defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. “It’s about trying to create a legacy,” Wilks said. “That’s one of the things I did talk about beyond just him as a person: What are we building now? Each step is toward Canton. I think that’s his mindset, as well.”
5. “GODFATHER OF DBs”
Whereas former defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans had a natural connection with the 49ers’ linebackers – his former position – Wilks looks at home working with the defensive backs, like Wednesday’s scene of him pointing directions to starters Charvarius Ward, Deommodore Lenoir, Talanoa Hufanga and Tashaun Gipson.
“He’s like the godfather of the DBs,” Lenoir said. “He’s got every answer and he’s always a positive person. There were plays I gave up in OTAs, and there was never a breaking-me-down. It was always bringing me up and telling me how I could be better.”
“I coach the back-end because that’s really my expertise,” Wilks said. “I see certain things and try to make coaching points on the run, to get those guys to self-correct themselves.”
6. AIYUK-SAMUEL COMBO
Brandon Aiyuk shined as the best receiver, similar to a year ago before his first 1,000-yard season. “I’m about to take off,” Aiyuk said in this offseason’s top quote/slogan.
Fellow starter Deebo Samuel followed with his own soundbite by depicting his 2022 showing as “awful” and vowing to improve. Samuel did not partake in team drills this spring. “Honestly, I thought he was Deebo,” Williams said of Samuel’s 2022 season. “Everybody is their own worst critic. I know he’s hard on himself, but I thought he was a playmaker.”
Jennings and Danny Gray had too many drops this offseason, but Jennings showed enough the past two seasons to remain a No. 3 option, especially on third downs. Tay Martin and rookie Ronnie Bell should make the competition interesting in camp.
7. McCAFFREY’S INTENSITY
Running back Christian McCaffrey celebrated his 27th birthday in typical fashion: practicing at warp speed and with intensity. When he got held by a defensive back on a Lance incompletion, McCaffrey repeatedly demanded that a referee call a penalty.
“We’re in a minicamp, most of the veterans are on the sidelines, front-row view, and you can’t keep Christian out of the huddle. That’s him,” Williams said. “He doesn’t take a day off. Doesn’t take a play off. … I told Christian, ‘Why aren’t you over here (watching practice) with me? You don’t have to worry about all that. ‘ ”
8. DRAKE THIS, CLELIN THAT
Defensive end Drake Jackson has lined up with the first-string unit and drawn a lot of praise for gaining strength after a rookie-season fade. That’s encouraging. That won’t guarantee him the starting role, however.
Clelin Ferrell, the Raiders’ 2019 draft bust, raced into the pocket for quarterback pressures on three consecutive pass plays Wednesday. Alternating Jackson and Ferrell could be the 49ers’ best move while Bosa dominates from the other edge. Others could factor into the mix, like Hyder, who jumped to snag a Lance pass at the line of scrimmage for a would-be pick-six, which Hufanga told onlooking reporters to write about (and have now done).
9. ALL IN ON McKIVITZ
Right tackle Colton McKivitz has the green light to replace Mike McGlinchey (Denver Broncos), and that comes with endorsements from both Williams, a 2021-22 All-Pro, and Chris Foerster, the offensive line coach and run-game coordinator. “It’s his job to lose,” Foerster said of McKivitz, who two years ago lost his roster spot before a late-season recall.
“Just to see him continue to grind, not be discouraged, continue to let his talent show, play with confidence. He earned it,” Williams said. “He’s here for a reason, he got that spot for a reason and I’m proud of him.”
10. TIGHT ENDS THRIVE
George Kittle looks in All-Pro form, the latest example coming on a 40-yard catch of a Lance pass Wednesday. But that position, for years, is about establishing a consistent complement to Kittle. Four plays after Kittle’s catch Wednesday, rookie Cameron Latu (third round) ran a post route and made a 30-yard grab of a Darnold throw. Brayden Willis and Troy Fumagalli also will challenge incumbents Charlie Woerner and Ross Dwelley for spots come camp.
Simply put, the 49ers will return for training camp with a bevy of weapons and a necessary plethora of quarterbacks, with more points coming from their rookie kicker, Moody, who banged a 60-yard field-goal attempt with the wind at his back Wednesday.
Originally published at Cam Inman