SANTA CLARA — Coach Kyle Shanahan has every right to wish his 49ers could skip to their Sept. 11 opener at Chicago.
Instead, here comes the preseason, complete with the annual peril of injury risks and sneak peaks into the 49ers’ personnel.
Next week’s joint practices at the Minnesota Vikings’ headquarters are so condusive to the onboarding of a season that, as Shanahan said, “I’d prefer that’s all we did, all three weeks and never play in a game.”
Only one of their three preseason games will be hosted at Levi’s Stadium, and it’ll be their first one Friday night against the Green Bay Packers, the same franchise the 49ers won their final game against last season in the NFC divisional playoffs at snowy Lambeau Field.
Remember the 49ers’ joy that January day. Well, here are five ways to make this rematch a mid-August dream:
5. CORNERBACK METTLE
The 49ers will stash their starting cornerbacks because of apparently minor injuries, those to newcomer Charvarius Ward (groin) and Emmanuel Moseley (hamstring). Thus, the preseason offers the 49ers a way to see if their cornerback unit is indeed deeper.
Deommodore Lenoir has come out of his rookie-season abyss to have a play-making camp, while fellow 2021 draft classmate Ambry Thomas looks to regain his late-season momentum. Ka’Dar Hollman, a roster underdog, should start based on recent practices. Making their pro debuts will be Samuel Womack III, Tariq Castro-Fields and Qwuantrezz Knight, the latter of whom had a big hit at Tuesday’s practice to reflect his hunger for action.
4. INTERIOR LINE
The 49ers’ chief concern is a revamped interior of their offensive line. Your eyes probably will track the more newcomers at the skill positions, but there’ll be plenty of trench-loving rubberneckers gazing at left guard Aaron Banks, right guard Spencer Burford and centers Jake Brendel and Daniel Brunskill.
“Burford can’t get enough reps. Banks can’t get enough reps. When you have guys who haven’t played a lot, they need to be out there a ton,” Shanahan said. “… They’ve been playing real well in practice and I’m excited to see them in games.”
Jason Poe and Nick Zakelj are intriguing rookie guards. It’s unlikely the interior linemen will be bracketed much, if at all, by starting tackles Trent Williams and Mike McGlinchey, so also keep an eye on Colton McKivitz, Justin Skule and impressive newcomer JordanMills in their competition for the swing-tackle role. Jaylon Moore remains out of action with a leg strain.
3. BEGINNING OF THE ENDS
Which defensive end will start alongside Nick Bosa and reap the benefits? The list of candidates looks deep and impressive through camp. Incumbent starter Samson Ebukam’s competition includes newcomers Kemoko Turay (via the Colts) and Drake Jackson (top draft pick out of USC), not to mention returning veterans Charles Omenihu, Jordan Willis and Kerry Hyder Jr.
Bosa has never played in the preseason (2020 slate was canceled by COVID), so don’t anticipate that to change. Also unlikely to suit up on an eventually promising line are Arik Armstead (knee sprain) and Javon Kinlaw, who’s seen limited snaps in his return from 2021 knee reconstruction.
2. RUN FOR ROSES
Elijah Mitchell, last season’s leading rusher as a rookie, remains the 49ers’ workhorse. None of the other backs have set themselves apart with breakaway speed in camp, although veteran Jeff Wilson Jr. looks back to form prior to his 2021 knee injury.
The preseason promises to serve as a wide-open audition for Trey Sermon and Ty Davis-Price, third-round picks the past two drafts, respectively. JaMycal Hasty and undrafted rookie Jordan Mason won’t be ignored, either. Hasty had the NFL’s fourth-most rushing yards last preseason, and Wilson the fifth-most in 2019.
1. TREY TIME
The more reps Lance gets, the better it will help his development, but also the greater exposure to injury risk. It’s a tricky balance in these mostly meaningless games. A year ago, Lance relieved Jimmy Garoppolo after each of three preseason games, and a fractured finger in the preseason finale hindered Lance’s mechanics throughout his rookie season, most of which was spent on the bench.
Don’t expect Shanahan to show too much of Lance’s dual-threat capabilities. An array of handoffs with the occasional play-action pass to a tight end will suffice, especially if poor pass protection jeopardizes Lance’s safety. Garoppolo won’t be coming in from the bullpen, seeing how he hasn’t practiced or attended meetings while awaiting a trade or release by next month’s season opener.
Nate Sudfeld should get an ample amount of action in this game, and he’ll likely start next Saturday’s game at Minnesota if Shanahan sticks to his plan of holding out Lance and select starters, who’ll have gotten sufficient work against the Vikings in those coveted joint practices.
Source: www.mercurynews.com