Niners Nation
The San Francisco 49ers are unlikely to play their starters meaningful snaps in their first preseason game against the Denver Broncos, which is why we should keep an eye on the youngsters.
Even if the first team plays a series or two, that leaves more than three quarters for somebody to make a name for themselves, the quarterback depth chart is set, but let’s walk through the roster to see which players at each position have the most to gain.
The 49ers selecting Jordan James in the fifth round of this past draft was meant to supplement their 2024 fourth-round pick, Isaac Guerendo. Unfortunately, Guerendo (shoulder ) and James (finger) are both out due to injury.
There’s no sense in seeing Christian McCaffrey in action after he just participated in the joint practice against Denver. That opens the door for Patrick Taylor Jr., Corey Kiner, and Ameer Abdullah.
The preseason is the first real “action” for running backs to show what they can do on and after contact. The majority of teams in the NFL don’t go to the ground in practice. Most of the contact is to a “thud,” and you stay off your feet to prevent injuries. As an undrafted rookie free agent, you couldn’t ask for a better situation than Saturday for Kiner. He’ll presumably have a heavy workload.
Kiner may lack the home run speed that Guerendo has, but he makes up for it with his vision, ability to stay on his feet after contact, and overall competitiveness as a runner. Kiner had the third-highest broken tackle rate per 100 touches in the 2025 NFL Draft. While he ended up transferring to Cincinnati, the fourth-year senior was the ninth-best running back in his class and committed to LSU. The talent is there. Now, Kiner gets his shot.
Assuming Trent Williams won’t don the pads Saturday evening, we’ll get our first look at Spencer Burford as a left tackle. This was Burford’s position in college, so he should look comfortable. The former fourth-rounder was a tick behind in the processing department at guard, so I’m curious to see how he looks on the edge. The 49ers should let Burford play for at least a half, if not more.
A good chunk of the offensive line is set in stone. Players like Matt Hennessy, Connor Colby, and Drew Moss are competing for either the final spot or looking to prove that they’re worthy of a practice squad spot.
Ricky Pearsall has been the talk of training camp. Still, he needs live reps. If we don’t see Pearsall, that’s a sign that Kyle Shanahan and the coaching staff are more than pleased with Pearsall’s progress.
The 49ers know what they have in Demarcus Robinson, which means players like Jordan Watkins have a chance to seize an opportunity with Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, and Jacob Cowing out...
