Segments 1 and 2 are in the books. Segment 3 begins today.
That’s how the San Francisco 49ers look at their training camp practices. They structure them in four-day segments. The first day is light practice, the next a medium-intensity practice. On the third day, they have a “jog-through,” which is new to the summer schedule this year, followed by their most rigorous practice of the segment. On the fifth day, there’s a league-mandated players’ day off. And then the cycle begins anew.
So what can be gleaned from the first two segments that included six full-speed practices? Here are some standouts, trends and trouble spots …
Are the 49ers too old?
Vic Tafur and Matt Barrows
Plenty of dogs at cornerback
The most impressive position to begin training camp is the cornerbacks.
Thanks to newcomers Jack Jones, Nate Hobbs and rookie Ephesians Prysock, it’s a deep group. And it’s a group that’s being allowed to play to its feisty strength.
The biggest critique of San Francisco’s defense in recent years is that it’s been too static and predictable. Robert Saleh, who implemented the system in 2017, preferred to keep things simple because he wanted his players to be fast and aggressive.
That was fine when the 49ers had a virtual all-star cast along the line of scrimmage. But whenever that talent has waned — see: the 2025 season — the lack of versatility has become problematic.
Which is where new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris comes in. For one, he’s built a reputation for marrying schemes to personnel. And two, his background is with defensive backs, which hasn’t always been an emphasis on the line- and linebacker-focused 49ers. Morris was a safety at Hofstra and has been an NFL defensive backs coach with Tampa Bay, Washington and Atlanta.
The result is that, for the first time in a decade, 49ers offensive players are seeing major differences in practices, including five-man fronts and ever-changing coverages.
“He gives us all these different kinds of looks, and the shell’s always changing,” quarterback Brock Purdy said last month. “Raheem’s done a good job with, I think, trying to disguise things against the quarterback but also the techniques that the DBs are playing with now, too. That’s a whole other thing.”
A more aggressive style of cornerback play has been apparent in the first few practices. It’s a style that seems to fit starters Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green and Upton Stout, all of whom see themselves as “dogs” on defense. (Well, Lenoir sees himself as a hyena, which is doglike.)
“It’s just being able to get attached to guys or being able to contest catches, make plays, challenge (receivers) more,” Green said last week. “That’s what (Morris) wants, and that fits us. That’s the type of ballplayers we are.”
Which linebackers do they cut?
If the cornerback group is 1A, the linebackers are 1B+.
Having Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw in the middle of the action boosts the confidence of the entire defense, and 2025 third-round pick Nick Martin gives the 49ers an element of speed at strongside linebacker they haven’t had since Azeez Al-Shaair manned the position. Martin mostly plays strongside, although he steps in at weakside — an every-down role — when Greenlaw needs a break. Which is to say, if Greenlaw has to miss a game this season, the starting linebackers would be Warner and Martin.
The unit is also impressive beyond the top three. Tatum Bethune is proven, Garret Wallow is extremely active and aggressive, and rookie Jaden Dugger is the most physically gifted of the bunch.
The coaches have also been impressed by undrafted rookie Larry Worth, a college safety who’s converting to linebacker. Worth is tall, smart and carries himself like a leader. He might not make the 53-man roster, but he seems like someone to keep around for further development. The other linebackers are Luke Gifford, a special teams Pro Bowler last season, and Jalen Graham, whose versatility is similar to that of Dugger.
Defensive end is particularly threadbare
Defensive end was the team’s weakest position last season … and it somehow looks even worse now.
Injuries have already taken out Romello Height, Keion White, Cameron Sample and others from one or more practices. And it’s not like any of them were sack monsters last season. White finished with 1.5 and Sample had two. Height, who’s already missed time with cramps and an elbow issue, is a third-round rookie.
The good news is that Nick Bosa is ramping up to full speed and should join team sessions in the coming weeks. It’s also notable that second-year player Mykel Williams looks trim as he continues to rehab from his 2025 knee surgery on a side field. Williams might be able to rejoin practice at the end of the month, though his availability for Week 1 remains murky.
McCaffrey’s burst is back; can he keep it?
Tailbacks are supposed to fall off a cliff after they turn 30, and Christian McCaffrey, who reached that milestone June 7, seems extra susceptible given he had 413 touches last season, the most by an NFL player in more than a decade.
But McCaffrey has looked sharp and explosive early on despite a steady workload over the first week and a half of practices.
Can he maintain that burst? As impressive as his 2025 season was, McCaffrey had just three carries of 20 yards or more, the first coming in Week 11.
The two players competing to be the backup tailback, and thus provide McCaffrey relief during the season, are injured. Jordan James has a broken rib, while third-round rookie Kaelon Black is dealing with an adductor (inner thigh muscle) issue.
Newcomer (and familiar face) Deebo Samuel should help. McCaffrey was targeted 129 times in the passing game last season, a team high and the most of any NFL running back. Some of the pass plays that went McCaffrey’s way last season ought to go to Samuel this year.
McCaffrey, meanwhile, sloughed off his recent birthday — he feels just like he did when he was 29, he joked — but noted he altered his offseason training routine.
“It’s not nothing,” he said of reaching 30. “That’s why I approach it differently than I did seven years ago. I’m not naive enough to think you can just keep doing the same thing.”
Second-year players have been solid
Head coach Kyle Shanahan’s take on a player’s second season: It can go one of two ways.
He can take a big leap from his rookie year, like George Kittle, who went from a solid 515 receiving yards in 2017 to an astounding 1,377 yards the following season.
On the other hand, sometimes the player relaxes a bit in Year 2, and there’s a bit of a backslide, which might have occurred with Green last season.
This year’s sophomore class looks strong early on. Martin (third round), Stout (third), Marques Sigle (fifth round) and guard Connor Colby (seventh round) are in position for either starting or prominent roles when the season begins. Receiver Jordan Watkins (fourth) is healthy and has been getting a lot of targets in practice. When his rib injury heals, James (fifth) will resume his battle with Black.
The question marks are Williams (first) and Alfred Collins (second), who have yet to practice in full in camp. Collins, who is recovering from shoulder surgery, has been going through individual drills so far and should get more work over the next segment of practices.
Position battles are already fizzling
When we previewed the 49ers’ training camp battles last month, the theme was that there were more — and more consequential — battles than during the ho-hum summer session last year.
After just a few practices, however, the competition doesn’t look so hot.
Injuries to receiver Christian Kirk (calf), defensive tackle Gracen Halton (knee bruise), safety Malik Mustapha (hamstring), James and Black have taken the air out of some would-be battles. And at left guard, Colby appears to be solidly ahead of Robert Jones, who’s working with the second-team unit.
“He looks like a completely different player (from) his rookie year, when guys come in kinda big-eyed and trying to figure it out,” offensive tackle Colton McKivitz said of Colby on Thursday. “He understands it a little more, is playing a little faster. You see he’s put on a little weight, too. He looks good.”
Even the team’s punting battle appears to be in jeopardy. If the 49ers suffer a few more injuries, they might not have the luxury of having a pair of punters, Corliss Waitman and Jack Bouwmeester, on their 90-man roster.
But, hey, at least the battle for No. 3 quarterback rages on. Look for quarterbacks Kurtis Rourke and Adrian Martinez to get the bulk of the preseason snaps beginning next week against the Tennessee Titans.
