On Saturday, the 49ers will host their first game of 2023 at Levi’s Stadium. The second preseason matchup, against the Denver Broncos, is a major opportunity for players on the bubble to prove themselves. Here are five things to look for.
Trey Lance
While there has been no proclamation made about who the No. 2 quarterback is, in my view, it’s Sam Darnold.
Saturday is setting up to be a confirmation of that. If Darnold plays well, he gets the job. If he falls apart and Lance looks outstanding, it may be up to the final game.
At this point, though, that latter scenario seems doubtful.
Darnold’s looked like the experienced quarterback he is, while Lance’s inexperience has shown. He looks like he’s pressing and stressing himself out in an incredibly challenging situation.
The best-case scenario for Lance is probably a trade elsewhere. There’s definitely a route where he gets a chance this season through injuries, but the 49ers aren’t in any position to give him the on-field reps he needs to develop, barring injuries or horrid performance from Purdy and/or Darnold.
Lance is also not anywhere near an elite runner of the football like he was hoped to be, so the notion of him getting opportunities in a wildcat or read-option package seem dubious.
That’s why these last two games are monumental for him. He needs to show improved comfort and timing, and if we’re being honest, should play almost the entirety of the third game.
If he plays well, it may pique interest and get him a move to somewhere he can actually develop. It’s hard, at this stage, to see that being in Santa Clara. But the 49ers may decide he’s more valuable to them than somewhere else.
Nickel corner
Isaiah Oliver was signed to be the starting corner. Steve Wilks raved about him earlier in training camp:
We wanted to make sure that we sort of got the best nickel in free agency and that’s what we went out and did, so I’m excited about Oliver. He’s long, he’s physical, can tackle, can cover, he’s going to be a good blitzer for us, everything that we do within this defense.
Since then, he hasn’t been anywhere near as convincing as hoped. Keelan Cole Sr. — a stellar, veteran slot receiver — cooked him in the preseason opener against the Raiders.
The 49ers have clearly been focusing on getting reps for other players at that spot. Oliver had a fantastic day on Thursday, surging through a crowd to make a backfield run stop, and driving on a short pass towards Brandon Aiyuk to nearly make an interception.
He needs to play like that on Saturday, though, to give the 49ers confidence at nickel. If it’s not him, undrafted rookie D’Shawn Jamison could be a very intriguing option. The ball is in Oliver’s court.
Linebackers
This is the most confounding competition. There’s Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw. After that, Oren Burks seems the only likely roster selection. I could not tell you what the pecking order at linebacker is. Just about all of them have made plays.
Everyone else has flashed potential in camp:
- There’s the two draft picks, Dee Winters and Jalen Graham. Both have shown quickness and the sideline-to-sideline range the 49ers need
- There’s Curtis Robinson, who had an interception and another near-pick. He was on the roster, then placed on IR, then never played last season, but has impressed.
- You’ve got Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, a well-liked special teams presence, and Marcelino McCrary-Ball, who has had an impressive camp filled with crunching tackles.
- Kyahva Tezino, who’s probably the one clear cut, was the second-leading tackler in the USFL, and has had moments, too.
It’s a situation where the 49ers kind of can’t go wrong with whoever they keep around. Maybe there’s a clearer picture of the hierarchy behind closed doors, but it feels like a competition where a couple of these players will have to distinguish themselves in these final two games.
Defensive line crunch
Maybe this isn’t actually how the roster will break down. But to me, the 49ers’ roster hierarchy looks a lot like this.
Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, Javon Hargrave, Clelin Ferrell and Drake Jackson are locks. I would be stunned if Kevin Givens or T.Y. McGill didn’t make the roster. Both are far too reliable on the interior. That’s seven players.
In my projections, the 49ers will keep 10 defensive linemen. That leaves three remaining slots. Hyder Jr. has long been solid for the 49ers and can slot inside if needed. He’s one of the team’s more reliable run defenders.
But Austin Bryant has had some really impressive moments, and Robert Beal Jr. beat Trent Williams with speed for a sack in 11-on-11s on Wednesday. He’s been hurt for most of camp but has a very enticing get off.
Then there’s Javon Kinlaw and Kalia Davis. Davis has missed too much time and was initially a late-round pick anyway, so I suspect he’s a practice squad candidate, unless he turns heads in the next two preseason games.
Kinlaw is tricky. He’s healthy, but his leverage has always been an issue. He’s long talked about the need to have a low pad level, but that is extraordinarily difficult for a man of his size. He gets upright and often cleared out of run gaps easily.
Both Armstead and Hargrave are better pass rushers than he is, and Givens and McGill are better run defenders, so there’s an argument he shouldn’t be on the roster at all.
That said, the 49ers save nothing by cutting him, and if one of Armstead or Hargrave goes down, they may want Kinlaw’s pass-rush potential. Either way, it feels wrong to cut him when he’s finally healthy and the interior options behind him aren’t stellar.
But if Kinlaw and Hyder Jr. are to make it, that means it’s Bryant vs. Beal. Bryant has the edge at this point, but it’s not far-fetched to imagine Beal getting plucked off waivers. Maybe the 49ers solve this by cutting Hyder or Bryant as veterans and keep them on the practice squad with the promise that they’ll be involved on game days. Either way, that crunch is worth monitoring on Saturday.
Jake Moody
He just needs to make a field goal. If he does, he gets the job. If not, and Zane Gonzalez does… gulp.
That said, I have a sneaking suspicion that the 49ers might let Gonzalez go first. That will put the pressure on Moody, and having seen Gonzalez make his, Moody will make his kicks.
That is purely speculation. But Moody rose to the challenge in college and with the sudden reality that his job could be on the line, he should come through in the preseason, in friendlier environs.