49ers training camp Day 2: Notes and observations

The San Francisco 49ers concluded their second day of training camp on Thursday, which was a scrimmage-heavy day where the offense and defense went back and forth making plays.

While left tackle Trent Williams and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk didn’t practice, the 49ers had a majority of their roster on hand for their second practice, with nearly every star in uniform working.

If you missed it, here are my three quick takeaways from what I saw on Day 2 of training camp.

Now, let’s get into my notes and observations of what unfolded on Thursday.

Rotations on offense

The 49ers started off the day with a few changes to their offensive line, as Jaylon Moore stepped in as the No. 1 left tackle, while Spencer Burford got the first reps at right guard.

With no Brandon Aiyuk or Ricky Pearsall, Deebo Samuel and Chris Conley were the top outside receivers. Danny Gray and Jacob Cowing (slot) worked with the second-team offense.

At tight end, George Kittle was back in the fold, taking the main reps at tight end. But, it was a competition behind him, with Eric Saubert getting the top opportunities afterwards, while Brayden Willis, Cameron Latu, Logan Thomas, Jake Tonges, and Mason Pline all rotated in.

Ultimately, there weren’t really many surprises with the offense, apart from Burford getting the first glance with the 1s.

Rotations on defense

The defensive side is where things switched up quite a bit.

In walkthroughs, Leonard Floyd was the starting defensive end opposite of Nick Bosa, while Maliek Collins and Javon Hargrave occupied the interior spots.

Yetur Gross-Matos rotated in with the second-team opposite Robert Beal Jr., although the former worked with the top defense during team drills, as Floyd did not participate in that part of practice.

It was curious to see Collins get the top spot over fellow defensive tackle Jordan Elliott in the base package, as the latter has been known for his run defense, which may be integral to San Francisco’s success in 2024.

Both of the additions look the part though, and should get ample playing time this year.

Beal’s ascension over options such as Drake Jackson and Austin Bryant shows some confidence in the second-year defensive end, who I projected to make the 53-man roster prior to camp.

At linebacker, with Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles injured, it was Dee Winters that saw the most reps with the 1s during team drills of the backups.

While Curtis Robinson worked with the first-team defense in the base package during walkthroughs, Winters was called upon as the No. 3 linebacker alongside Fred Warner and DeVondre Campbell during the most important parts of practice.

At cornerback, the 49ers went with Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir as the two outside cornerbacks in the base package. But, as the team went to nickel, Isaac Yiadom came into the fold on the outside, kicking Lenoir inside.

Rookie Renardo Green played primarily with the second-team defense, seeing a majority of his action in the slot. Green looks smaller than the other cornerbacks, which may be a factor early on.

Darrell Luter worked between the second and third-team defenses alongside Ambry Thomas and Rock Ya-Sin, as the 49ers rotated a ton with their outside cornerbacks.

At safety, with Talanoa Hufanga injured, George Odum stepped in as the top safety alongside Ji’Ayir Brown. They took all of the first-team reps on the day.

Cowing impresses

The wide receiver position was going to be one to watch during training camp, as Brandon Aiyuk has not practiced due to his contract status, while rookie Ricky Pearsall was placed on the non-football injury (NFI) list due to a hamstring issue.

That left opportunity for the field at receiver, and different players showed out on Thursday.

There was buzz about Danny Gray’s name during Day 1 of training camp, but the flashy player for Day 2 was rookie Jacob Cowing.

Working mainly out of the slot with the second-team defense, Cowing got his fair share of volume, and moved fluidly with the ball in his hands in space.

Cowing is a smaller receiver, but looks bigger than you’d expect, and he just moves at a different pace than his fellow wideouts.

Earlier, I had Cowing as the fifth receiver in my 53-man projection, while going with just five players at the position, given the depth within that core that the 49ers have.

If the 49ers can get over the size, Cowing is a player who can definitely make an impact, specifically with the ball in his hands.

He’ll be a player to watch for the rest of training camp.

Punt return

It was a lighter day for the 49ers, but the team did have some punt returning drills where three people were seen fielding kicks: Ronnie Bell, Jacob Cowing, and Trent Taylor.

With Ray-Ray McCloud off to the Atlanta Falcons, the 49ers have an open gig for both of their returning spots, leaving there a competition to be had for that opening.

Now, in the past, San Francisco has usually liked specialists that have the capability to be contributors elsewhere on the 53-man roster as well, and that could factor in once again this season.

Bell did struggle a bit, misfielding a few punts, but Cowing and Taylor looked fairly smooth with their reps.

If the fifth-rounder Cowing can find his way with that role, the 49ers could get a dynamic returner and not have to spend an extra roster spot to fill the void.

One interesting omission from the group? Danny Gray. I’ll be keeping an eye out to see if he joins the returning competition during camp.

RB cycle

Christian McCaffrey was back in the fold, so things returned to normal for the 49ers on Thursday with their running back group.

Still, the 49ers operated with a cycle at running back, evenly splitting the reps between their top options.

McCaffrey looked smooth and fresh, as always, although it was hard to truly gauge the effectiveness of the run game, given the lack of pads.

Elijah Mitchell, however, looked especially fresh, which is a good sign given that he’s on a one-year deal and his prior injury history.

Behind him, Jordan Mason worked in as well, catching a few passes out of the backfield, while running hard as usual. The top three options got the majority of the reps with the first and second-team offense.

It’ll be interesting to see how the coaching staff divides reps among the group and whether Mason will have a chance to unseat Mitchell in the pecking order at some point during camp.

The last option was mainly Patrick Taylor Jr., a free agent signing who worked with the No. 3 team primarily.

Even with the injury to Isaac Guerendo, this is one of the deeper rooms that the 49ers have, positioning themselves well for the upcoming season.

One note: I didn’t see much from Cody Schrader, who didn’t get much of an opportunity to perform on Thursday with the reserves.

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