The Good and Not So Good from 49ers-Titans Practice: Stribling Outplays Tate

That's significant

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SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers just wrapped up Day 11 of training camp, which was a joint practice against the Tennessee Titans. Here's who stood out. Keep in mind that after practice, head coach Kyle Shanahan said Nick Bosa is dealing with knee tendinitis that is related to his ACL recovery. More on Bosa in a minute.

THE GOOD

1. Wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling

Outplayed Titans rookie wide receiver Carnell Tate, who was the fourth pick in the draft. Tate didn't catch many passes, and when he did make a catch, he often had to lay out. As opposed to Stribling, who caught a team-high 7 passes during 11-on-11 team drills, and caught them in stride. He was Brock Purdy's go-to guy, particularly outside the red zone where Stribling's speed stretches the field and stresses defenses. Cornerbacks give him such a big cushion, which opens up underneath routes for him. He's a terrific complement for Demarcus Robinson, who's more of a possession receiver and red-zone specialist. Stribling isn't currently a huge threat in the red zone, but he could develop that part of the game in time. Expect him to get a ton of playing time and targets this season as long as he's healthy.

2. Wide receiver Demarcus Robinson

He's not particularly fast, but he's big and tough and dependable, similar to Jauan Jennings. Robinson is fearless over the middle, he has a big catch radius and he's at his best in the end zone where he made two catches today. Theoretically, Mike Evans can do all these things even better, but he has been injured for most of camp, while Robinson hasn't missed a day. Don't be surprised if Robinson outproduces Evans this season, simply because Evans is older and breaking down.

3. Tight end Jake Tonges

It's funny, when the 49ers practice against themselves, Tonges often is an afterthought, for whatever reason. Maybe the coaches want to see what other players can do. But today, in a competitive practice against another team during which Christian McCaffrey is not participating, suddenly Tonges is Purdy's security blanket. Today, he caught multiple passes downfield. He needs to be a constant fixture in the offense this year, even after George Kittle comes back. Because Kittle is coming off a torn Achilles and won't be able to carry the offense the way he has in the past.

4. Quarterback Brock Purdy

Shredded a talented defense while missing a starting running back, a starting tight end and two starting wide receivers. With the exception of one day, Purdy has been lights-out in training camp. As opposed to Titans quarterback Cam Ward, who never seemed to know where he wanted to go with the football.

5. Safety Ji'Ayir Brown

Undercut and intercepted a pass over the middle thrown by Cam Ward. Brown isn't the fastest safety and he has a troubling tendency to give up long catches over his head, but he also breaks confidently on passes in front of him, as he did on this play. Unfortunately, after the play, he ran over to Cam Ward, mockingly handed him the ball and got flagged for taunting. In fairness to Brown, he doesn't make good plays that often, so he was excited.

6. Cornerback Renardo Green

He's not going to intercept passes, and he will get beaten by practice squad players occassionally during 1-on-1 drills. But he's also the cornerback on the 49ers who's best suited to match up with No. 1 wide receivers because of his size and speed. And today, he used those traits to shut down rookie first-round pick Carnell Tate. We've also seen Green shut down Pro Bowlers such as Davante Adams as recently as last year. Green clearly raises his game when it matters.

7. Cornerback Jakob Robinson

Made a diving interception on a pass thrown by Will Levis. Robinson is the 49ers' most intriguing young cornerback. He has an outside chance to make the 53-man roster if he has a strong preseason.

8. Linebacker Jaden Dugger

The 49ers' starting defense started practice using a five-man front with Dugger standing on the line of scrimmage as the third linebacker. This is a look the 49ers want to use against two-tight-end formations this season, and Dugger is the key to it, because he's built like a defensive end, and yet he played safety in college, so he's a hybrid player. He can set the edge against the run and drop into coverage as well. He just might start right away.

9. Left guard Carver Willis

Returned yesterday from a concussion and instantly became the second-string left guard, which means he's one injury or benching away from becoming the starter. As opposed to Connor Colby, who has been demoted to backup right guard behind Dominick Puni. I expect Willis will finish the season as the starting left guard, because the current starter is Robert Jones, and he's a veteran stopgap who won't be on the team next year.

THE NOT SO GOOD

1. Defensive end Nick Bosa

Still hasn't practiced or shown up to practice since last Monday. Today, Kyle Shanahan revealed that Bosa is suffering from knee tendinitis that is related to his latest ACL rehab. Shanahan said that tendinitis is common during these recoveries. Still, it seems Bosa's injury is worse than the 49ers initially let on. And that's a problem, because he essentially is their pass rush. The 49ers should trade him before the season starts if they can find a taker. Maybe they can trade him to the Raiders straight up for Maxx Crosby.

2. Running back Christian McCaffrey

Missed his second practice in a row with "tightness." Shanahan said McCaffrey's injury is nothing to be worried about, but that's what he said two years ago when calf tightness ended McCaffrey's training camp early and eventually caused him to miss the first eight games of the season. And just today, Bosa's "soreness" magically became knee tendinitis. So, it's impossible to know what's really going on with McCaffrey and how severe his issue is. We'll find out soon enough.

3. Wide receiver Mike Evans

Suited up for practice, but didn't actually compete against the Titans. He watched Stribling and Robinson compete and play well. Two years ago, Evans was way better than those two. Now, he moves around as if everything hurts.