The Good and Not So Good from Day 13 of Training Camp: Wide Back Deebo Samuel is Back
SANTA CLARA -- Here's who stood out during Day 13 of 49ers training camp. Keep in mind, the practice was relatively short. And it was the first practice of training camp in which fans weren't in attendance, which means the 49ers finally unveiled their quarterback-driven run game.
THE GOOD
1. Wide back Deebo Samuel.
He doesn't look like the 215-pound Deebo Samuel who was an All Pro wide receiver last season. These days, he looks like a 225-pound running back. And today, that's the position he played. He warmed up with the running backs, lined up in the backfield during team drills, carried the ball four times and caught zero passes. The 49ers called one deep shot for Samuel, but he couldn't outrun Tariq Castro-Fields, so Lance threw the ball elsewhere. Samuel's long speed isn't in midseason form yet but, as a running back, he looks as explosive as ever. He gained 30 yards on four carries and burst through the line of scrimmage much faster than the other running backs. Good to see Samuel embrace playing running back, because he's an elite runner.
2. Linebacker Fred Warner.
Intercepted a tipped pass from Lance (more on him in a minute). Warner is having the best camp of his career. He has intercepted at least three passes.
3. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw.
Ran stride for stride with Brandon Aiyuk on a deep crossing route and forced an incomplete pass. Greenlaw is as fast as a wide receiver. Remarkable.
4. Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair.
Broke up a pass intended for George Kittle on 3rd and 4. The 49ers have the best trio of linebackers in the league.
THE NOT SO GOOD
1. Quarterback Trey Lance.
Completed just 4 of 14 passes, which sounds horrible, but he wasn't that bad. Three of his passes were dropped, and he threw two away in the red zone. He also completed two beautiful touchdown passes in the red zone, and nearly completed four. On the first one, he floated to his left and hit Kittle running across the back of the end zone. On the second one, Lance hit Aiyuk in the right flat. On the third one, Lance hit Trey Sermon in the back-right corner of the end zone, but Sermon didn't get his second foot in bounds. On the fourth one, Lance hit Tay Martin between two defenders, but Martin just dropped a perfect pass. Overall, Lance played well in the red zone. His biggest issue right now is throwing the deep out. He attempted one today and it sailed way over Aiyuk's head and landed out of bounds. Lance seems to drop his elbow and throw this pass with a low three-quarters release, which causes the ball to sail. I doubt the 49ers coach him to throw this pass with such a low arm slot. He needs to fix this.
2. Running back Ty Davis-Price.
Dropped another pass. To be fair, it was a checkdown pass and Lance threw it hard. Still, it doesn't matter how hard or soft you throw the ball to Davis-Price, because he can't catch anything.
3. Right tackle Colton McKivitz.
Mike McGlinchey suffered a setback to his surgically-repaired leg this Friday, so McKivitz is the new right tackle. Today, he gave up pressure which led to a tipped pass that got intercepted, plus he committed a false start. The 49ers should give Jordan Mills a look with the first-string, because he's better than McKivitz.
