The Good and Not So Good From Day 11 of 49ers Training Camp
SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers just had the 11th practice of training camp, and their first inside Levi’s Stadium. They practically played an entire game without tackling, and I got to watch it from the 50-yard line. How jealous are you?
THE GOOD
1. Tight End Jordan Reed.
Every quarterback’s go-to receiver today because George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel are injured and didn’t practice. Even when those three return, Reed will be a go-to guy in the 49ers passing game when healthy because he’s the best route runner on the team and he has great hand-eye coordination. Today, he made five catches for 45 yards, and caught Jimmy Garoppolo’s only touchdown pass of the morning. Look for Garoppolo to throw Reed lots of passes in the red zone and on third down this season.
2. Tight End Chase Harrell.
Didn’t play with the starters, but caught five passes for a team-high 60 yards during practice. Beat cornerback/nickelback Jason Verrett with an out route for a 21-yard gain. Harrell is big and quick and fast and a good route runner. He has quite a bright future.
3. Wide Receiver Dante Pettis.
Caught three passes for 37 yards during team drills. His best catch was a 17-yarder over the middle. He ran a dig route and beat Richard Sherman. It’s clear the 49ers want Pettis to become a starter while Aiyuk and Samuel are out. And at least for today, Pettis rose up.
4. Running Back Raheem Mostert.
Rushed six times for 35 yards, and scored a 19-yard touchdown run against the first-string defense. The run was between the tackles. Mostert was patient in the backfield, made one cut and exploded through the defense. No one touched him. It’s amazing how NFL players constantly underestimate Mostert’s speed. He looks just as good as last season.
5. Running Back JaMycal Hasty.
Dropped a perfectly-thrown deep pass from C.J. Beathard during team drills, but redeemed himself with a 10-yard run that made the entire defense whoop and holler from the sideline because Hasty juked a defender to the ground. He’s the most elusive running back on the 49ers.
6. Fullback Josh Hokit.
Started at fullback because Kyle Juszczyk missed his second practice with a hamstring strain. And Hokit played well. Impressive for a rookie undrafted free agent to start at fullback in training camp. Must be a smart guy.
7. Guard Colton McKivitz.
Beat Kentavius Street, Kevin Givens and Darrion Daniels every time he faced them during one-on-one pass-rush drills. McKivitz is so much better than veteran guard Tom Compton, it’s not even funny. McKivitz hasn’t officially beat out Compton to become the starter yet, though. Should be a mere matter of time.
8. Defensive End Arik Armstead.
Stopped running back Jerick McKinnon for a two-yard loss, and later sacked Jimmy Garoppolo during team drills. Armstead hasn’t played much during camp -- he missed the first week with an irritated back. But he has played well when he has been on the field.
9. Defensive Tackle Solomon Thomas.
Starting to win more consistently during one on ones. Today he even beat starting left guard Laken Tomlinson with a bull rush. That was a first for Thomas. He’s more powerful than he used to be, plus he has added an inside counter move that’s effective. I expect he’ll get lots of playing time on third downs this season.
10. Defensive Tackle Kevin Givens.
Lined up at defensive end during one on ones and beat backup offensive tackle Justin Skule both times they faced each other. Also beat McKivitz once for a sack during team drills. As well as Thomas has played in camp, Givens has played even better.
11. Defensive Tackle Darrion Daniels.
Stopped running back Tevin Coleman for a three-yard loss. Every day, it seems Daniels makes at least one eye-popping play. He reminds me of a young D.J. Jones.
12. Defensive End Kerry Hyder.
Stopped running back Raheem Mostert for a one-yard loss. Hyder isn’t much of a pass-rusher, but clearly is a valuable run defender who almost certainly will make this team and play a role in the defense until Ronald Blair returns from a torn ACL.
13. Nickelback Jamar Taylor.
Broke up a pass in the end zone intended for Kendrick Bourne. The offense was at the five-yard line. Bourne ran a slant route, Taylor read it all the way and beat Bourne to the ball. Taylor seems to have picked up both the 49ers defense and offense the past two weeks. Smart player.
14. Nickelback Jared Mayden.
An undrafted-free-agent rookie and currently the backup nickelback. Today, Mayden stopped Jeff Wilson Jr. for a one-yard loss, and later intercepted a pass from Nick Mullens that tipped off Jauan Jennings’ hands. Mayden is a playmaker who went to Alabama and is in terrific shape. I expect he’ll make the 49ers’ 53-man roster eventually.
15. Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley.
Broke up a pass from Garoppolo intended for Bourne, who was running a slant. Moseley has given up zero big plays in camp and remains one of the two best corners on the roster. He has gotten better since last season.
16. Cornerback Jason Verrett.
Lined up in the slot and broke up a pass intended for Jordan Reed on the final play of practice. Reed ran a slant and Verrett jumped the route. He might not have the speed to play outside cornerback effectively anymore, but he appears effective as a nickelback.
THE NOT SO GOOD
1. Tight End George Kittle.
Missed his second consecutive practice with hamstring tightness. The 49ers say Kittle isn’t injured, but tightness sounds like an injury. Either way, he didn’t practice. I wonder if he’ll practice on Sunday? I’m guessing he won’t.
2. Center Daniel Brunskill.
Snapped the ball over Garoppolo’s head, and the ball rolled through the end zone for a safety. The 49ers must feel quite confident Ben Garland will be healthy and ready to play center Week 1, because Brunskill is not ready.
3. Defensive Tackle Javon Kinlaw.
Couldn’t beat Kofi Amicihia during one on ones. Lost to him both times they faced each other. I’ve never even heard of Amichia, but good for him. Kinlaw probably will start every game for the 49ers this season, but I doubt he’ll play lots of snaps per game. I’m thinking 20 to 30 snaps on average. He probably won’t play much on passing downs. There are so many superior interior pass rushers on the roster right now.
4. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
Completed 18 of 29 pass attempts, threw no picks and made no bad decisions. All of that was good. He was without question the best quarterback on the field today. But he’s the highly-paid franchise quarterback, so I hold him to a high standard. And I noticed he sailed the two long sideline passes he attempted. Both times, he threw the ball as hard as he could, but didn’t throw it on a line -- it was a pop fly. It flew over the wide receiver’s head and landed out of bounds both times. Garoppolo still is working to regain the zip he had on his passes before he tore his ACL. The zip comes and goes.
5. Punt Returner Dante Pettis.
Muffed the first punt he tried to catch. That’s why he doesn’t return punts for the 49ers. He can’t catch the ball consistently.
6. Wide Receiver Jauan Jennings.
Dropped a perfect pass from Mullens, then tipped another Mullens pass to the defense for a pick. The second pass was behind Jennings, but he still got both hands on the ball and dropped it. Meaning he dropped two passes this morning. The rookie seventh-round pick has good moments in camp, but overall has struggled.
7. Strong Safety Jaquiski Tartt.
Made a beautiful play in the red zone to break up a pass intended for Jordan Reed, who ran an out route. Tartt was in man-to-man coverage, he shadowed Reed and broke up the pass. Tartt is terrific in man coverage. But the next play, the defense played zone coverage and Tartt was late to pick up Reed, who caught a touchdown pass right in front of him. Tartt continues to break a tick late from zone coverage.
8. Cornerback Tim Harris Jr.
The defense busted a coverage, and Harris was left covering two players -- Jordan Reed underneath and Tavon Austin deep. Unfortunately for the defense, Harris chose to cover the underneath receiver and gave up a wide-open deep touchdown catch to Austin. Next time, Harris probably should cover the deep receiver and concede the short catch, not the long touchdown. Learning experience.
9. Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon.
Put himself in the perfect position to intercept a long pass intended for Austin, and let the ball fly right through both hands. Didn’t even touch it. Witherpsoon’s long road to regain his self confidence continues.
