The Good and Not So Good from Day 1 of Minicamp
SANTA CLARA -- Here's who stood out at Day 1 of 49ers minicamp. Keep in mind, the following veterans showed up, but did not participate in team drills: Deebo Samuel, Trent Williams, George Kittle, Mike McGlinchey, Daniel Brunskill, Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, Javon Kinlaw, Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw, Azeez Al-Shaair and Charvarius Ward.
THE GOOD
1. Quarterback Trey Lance.
Completed 14 of 18 passes during team drills (78 percent), with two drops. He also threw four touchdown passes in the red zone and one interception, although the pick was a good throw that bounced off the chest of Brandon Aiyuk (more on him below). In addition, Lance was 3 for 3 on third down and converted all of them with his arm, not his legs. His only bad throw of the day was a deep throw to Ray Ray McCloud that fluttered, wobbled and sliced away from the intended target. Lance has yet to complete a deep throw in front of the media this offseason. Otherwise, he has been close to flawless.
2. Wide receiver Jauan Jennings.
Caught all five of his targets and scored three touchdowns in the red zone. Absolutely torched starting nickelback Darqueze Dennard (more on him below). After practice, veteran cornerback Charvarius Ward called Jennings an excellent route runner, which is correct.
3. Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley.
Broke up a long pass near the sideline intended for Brandon Aiyuk, who waited for the ball to get to him. Moseley did not wait. He pounced and swatted the ball away as it hit Aiyuk's chest. Moseley has given up zero big plays in front of the media this offseason. He wins most of his matchups.
4. Defensive end Kemoko Turay.
The most explosive edge rusher on the field during team drills (remember, Bosa suited up but didn't practice). Turay has an extremely quick first step and he does a good job of bending underneath the offensive tackle's reach as he rushes around the edge. He won lots of matchups and frequently had to slide to avoid touching the quarterback.
5. Defensive tackle Maurice Hurst.
Burst into the backfield and tagged running back Jordan Mason for a loss. Hurst missed most of last season with a calf injury, but he seems healthy now, and he's good when healthy.
6. Tight end Tanner Hudson.
Dove for a Trey Lance fastball while running up the seam and caught it between Jimmie Ward and Curtis Robinson for a cool gain of 30. One of the most difficult and impressive catches I've ever seen in practice.
7. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk.
Caught a pass from Brock Purdy while runing a slant on third and five and pulled away from the defense to score a long touchdown. Juszczyk really should be the 49ers' third-down back. He's terrific at blocking, route running and catching.
8. Cornerback Sam Womack.
Clearly the best nickelback on the team. When he gets beat, it's not by much, and he doesn't give up big plays.
THE NOT SO GOOD
1. Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
He caught four of his six targets and a couple of his catches went for big gains, including one against Deommodore Lenoir (more on him below). But Aiyuk also dropped two passes, both bounced off his chest and one bounced into the arms of cornerback Ka'Dar Hollman who intercepted the pass in the end zone. Aiyuk is in good shape, but he dropped many passes in front of the media this offseason. Let's see if he's sharper in training camp.
2. Wide receiver Danny Gray.
Missed his second week in a row with a tweaked hamstring. Not good for a player who's only real asset is his speed.
3. Defensive end Drake Jackson.
Matched up multiple times with offensive tackle Sam Schlueter during 11 on 11s and never beat him. Each rep, Jackson struggled to disengage and turn the corner, as opposed to Turay, who was in the backfield all morning. I expected to see Jackson beat Schlueter at least once considering Schlueter probably won't make the team. Too soon to panic about Jackson, though. We'll see if he improves as the offseason progresses, as he's extemely young.
4. Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir.
Gave up a long catch to Brandon Aiyuk, and is pretty much the only cornerback on the team who routinely gives up big plays. I see why the 49ers benched him last season. He's a liability.
5. Nickelback Darqueze Dennard.
Lance and Jennings figured out quickly that Dennard is the weak link in the secondary and just abused him repeatedly. I'm not confident Dennard will make the team.
6. Running back Ty Davis-Price.
Missed yet another practice with an undisclosed injury.
