Five Observations From Day 4 of 49ers Training Camp

Day 4 of training camp is in the books for the San Francisco 49ers. It was the first I attended in 2020, and it was another hot day out there in Santa Clara, which was prime and ripe for competitive football.

There was a lot of key moments from today's training camp that I made sure to take note of. So without further ado, here are my five observations from Day 4:

D.J. Jones hype is real

The first half of practice, I mainly keyed in on the defensive line versus offensive line battles. Trent Williams going up against Nick Bosa was my top camp battle to look forward to. Well, I clearly should have given D.J. Jones more of his due because he stood out so magnificently today.

It did not matter who he went up against, Jones was consistently beating his man. A lot of what he did to beat his man was a mix of speed and power. Not many interior defensive linemen are going to incorporate both -- it's usually one or the other. But Jones' get off was so fast that he forced his man to step back with him and just used a series of powerful punches to win. Seeing how swift his feet were through the entire process was pretty sweet.

Jones is not a one-trick pony. He is going to be trouble for opposing offenses when the season begins. The hype and excitement surrounding him is real, so if you are someone who isn't looking forward to him, then you better switch that up with a quickness.

Javon Kinlaw is a moving truck

Obviously, Javon Kinlaw was going to generate the biggest hype out of all of the rookies this season. He is supposed to be DeForest Buckner's replacement after all, which will not be easy. However, after just one day I can already see Kinlaw having a sweet impact from the start.

He won't sniff the impact of Buckner yet, but the guy is a man among boys. It is odd to say that about a rookie surrounded by experience players. But he is just so massive and watching him battle against the offensive line was truly something. He is practically a moving truck out there that cannot be stopped.

Power, power, and more power. It truly is as simple as that to describe Kinlaw. Everyone he battled against he just overwhelmed them with brute strength. It is both a tremendous gift and a bit of a concern because he will become predictable if he doesn't add more moves to his arsenal.

Interior offensive line was poor

The Achilles heel of the 49ers in 2019 was their interior offensive line. Seeing that area of the team get exposed in the Super Bowl is a large part of why they lost in the first place. It just might be a concern once again in 2020.

There was not a single rep where the interior offensive line got the best of the opposition. And I know it is just one practice that I have attended, but word is that this is not a one off that the interior looked poor in camp. Daniel Brunskill did not have a highlight, Tom Compton, not even Laken Tomlinson. Although, Tomlinson held his own the best against Kinlaw, but that is to be expected.

There is still time to bounce back and give the interior defensive line its own medicine. Perhaps that will be on Thursday when the 49ers return.

Dante Pettis grew up today

I had to splash water in my face and ask my editor Grant Cohn to pinch me because I could not believe that Dante Pettis was balling out there. It was amazing to watch him abuse most defenders against him, specifically with comeback routes. He would just spin corners like a top.

Ahkello Witherspoon could not hang, although he stepped up in some portions when they scrimmaged. Plus Emmanuel Moseley struggled. There just wasn't anyone to shutdown Pettis. Maybe if Richard Sherman covered him today, but I do not believe that ever happened once.

What was most surprising to see of Pettis today was that most of his routes worked the middle of the field, either a comeback or a crosser, and he did not look scared. Did not look afraid to take a hit, not even when some throws were a bit off target and he had to go attack the ball. Perhaps maybe, just maybe this is the year for Pettis yet.

Ahkello Witherspoon ran with the 1's

I may have just been bad luck or something, because today Ahkello Witherspoon ran with the 1's for the first time in training camp. Moseley ran with the backups, so the starters were Witherspoon and Sherman, then Moseley and Jason Verrett were the backups. About a month ago, I made a claim that the 49ers would let Witherspoon and Moseley fight for the starting position opposite of Sherman.

That seems to be the case. The 49ers just do not want to give up on Witherspoon for the same reason they do not want to give up on Pettis. Confidence is their main issue. If these guys can feel like they have a swagger to their game, then there will be no issue out there executing plays. This is something I will certainly keep track of as camp goes by.

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