The Good and Not So Good from 49ers OTAs: Mike Evans Has a Strong Day

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The 49ers just wrapped up their second and final OTA practice in front of the media. Here's who stood out.
THE GOOD
1. Wide receiver Mike Evans.
Caught a few passes from Brock Purdy during team drills. All of his catches came near the sideline, and Evans won with ease. He did not catch any passes over the middle nor did he run deep. He clearly is past his prime, but he's still effective when healthy. He looks like he'll be a monster for the 49ers in the low red zone.
2. Wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling.
Caught two deep passes -- one up the left sideline in the hole of the 49ers' Cover 2 defense, and the other was a deep pass down the middle. On the second one, Stribling ran a post route and burned backup nickelback Nate Hobbs. Stribling clearly is a deep threat, similar to Jordan Watkins except taller. It's unclear how consistent either wide receiver is at getting open on short and intermediate routes.
3. Wide receiver Demarcus Robinson.
Made two big catches over the middle. Both times, he ran dig routes and caught the ball in stride with zero fear or hesitation, just the way Jauan Jennings used to do. It would be nice to see Evans, Stribling and Pearsall do that, too. For now, Robinson clearly is the 49ers' go-to guy in the receiver room when it comes to catching passes in traffic.
4. Wide receiver Jacob Cowing.
Burned Darrell Luter Jr. with a post route to catch a deep touchdown pass from Brock Purdy. Cowing isn't particularly effective as a punt returner, but he's extremely dangerous as a receiver. He'll make the team if he can stay healthy.
5. Safety Malik Mustapaha.
Intercepted Brock Purdy. To be fair, Purdy threw the ball right at him. Still, Mustapha gets credit for being in the right place at the right time and for holding onto the football. He might be the best safety on the team.
6. Safety Ashtyn Davis.
Exploded into the hole to stop running back Jordan Mims after a gain of just two yards. Davis clearly is the 49ers' fastest safety. He gives them a skill set they didn't have already.
7. Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir.
Lined up on the left and right side of the defense for a change. Last year, he played solely on the left side, which allowed opposing teams to avoid him. Now, they won't be able to do that. Good adjustment by defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.
8. Tight end George Kittle.
Jogged and hopped on one foot while the rest of the team practiced. Afterward, Kittle said his Achilles recovery is ahead of schedule and there's still a chance he'll play Week 1 in Australia, although he didn't seem particularly confident in that return date.
9. Running back Kaelon Black.
He's the most explosive running back on the team. More explosive than Jordan James, and more explosive than Christian McCaffrey, who didn't practice today. The 49ers haven't had a running back with Black's burst since Deebo Samuel was in his prime.
THE NOT SO GOOD
1. Quarterback Brock Purdy.
Threw two interceptions and a third pass that was bobbled and dropped by a defender. On all three plays, Purdy turned his back to the defense to fake a handoff, spun around and threw the ball directly to a defender. Clearly, play-action passes from the pocket are an issue for Purdy. Last year, his passer rating on play-action passes was a mere 72.1. He simply struggles to see the field unless he rolls out.
2. Quarterback Mac Jones.
Missed his second week in a row with a sore shoulder. After practice, Jones said the shoulder is nothing to worry about. He also said the 49ers told him early in the offseason that they would not trade him. Sounds like they still have some misgivings about Purdy.
3. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke.
Threw one of the worst passes I've ever seen -- a 30-yard duck that fluttered and spun sideways before getting intercepted by Siran Neal. Rourke seemed to hesitate before releasing the pass, as if he knew what was going to happen. He's at his best when he's checking down.
4. Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall.
Missed practice. Didn't show up. Wasn't anywhere to be seen. It would be a shame if he had gotten injured already. You'd like to think he could make it through a couple of weeks of practice unscathed.
5. Wide receiver Christian Kirk.
Did not practice. Seems to have suffered an injury. What else is new?
6. Nickelback Upton Stout.
Gave up a long catch to Demarcus Robinson who ran an out-and-up double move from the slot. Stout is versatile, but man-to-man coverage is clearly his biggest weakness.

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.
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