While household names such as Jimmy Garoppolo and Richard Sherman will garner much of the attention at San Francisco 49ers training camp, there are a number of under-the-radar players who have the potential to become integral members of the roster in 2018.
The 49ers held their first practice on Thursday, with head coach Kyle Shanahan saying on Wednesday that, as a result of having a much deeper roster than in 2017, San Francisco will have to cut talented players who will land on other teams.
San Francisco has one of the younger rosters in the NFL, with many Niners players as yet unheralded in wider NFL circles.
Plenty of those unfamiliar names will be important to the success of a team expected by many to contend for the playoffs in 2018, while some are in need of a strong camp to avoid missing the cut.
Here we look at five players who are well under the radar but who are worth paying close attention to during 49ers camp.
Five Under the Radar Players to Watch at San Francisco 49ers Training Camp
Kendrick Bourne
He may have only had 16 catches in his rookie year, but undrafted free agent Bourne demonstrated enough to suggest the 49ers could have unearthed a gem.
A well-built and fluid athlete with the hands and toughness to make tough chain-moving receptions over the middle but also with enough speed to make things happen after the catch, Bourne excelled down the stretch and flashed the route-running ability to engineer separation against Jalen Ramsey.
Possessing size that allows him to compete for contested catches and box out defenders, Bourne could become a legitimate red zone threat for Garoppolo.
The problem for Bourne, though, is that with Pierre Garcon returning from injury and Dante Pettis being drafted in the second round, the competition at receiver is fierce.
He should have enough prior credit stored up to earn a roster spot but cannot rest on his laurels. Bourne is unlikely to be lacking in motivation to excel in training camp and, should he do so, he could well become an integral part of Shanahan’s offense.
Richie James
The 49ers drafted a high-impact player in the seventh round last year when they selected Adrian Colbert, who became their starting safety in 2017, and may have found another final-round gem in James.
Undersized at 5’9″ and 176 pounds, James is not a receiver who is likely to have success beating aggressive press coverage. However, he is an ideal player for an offensive scheme that relies heavily on putting players in space and consistently utilizes receivers out of the backfield and running backs spread out wide.
Boasting the quickness to create separation and the elusiveness to make defenders miss, James was excellent after the catch at Middle Tennessee State, where he was regularly given carries out of the backfield.
An impressive ball-tracker with the body control to make tough sideline catches, James has the versatile skill set to flourish in Shanahan’s system. However, like Bourne, a place on the roster is far from a guarantee, and a strong camp is required for him to emerge from a crowded battle for a place on the receiver depth chart.
Ronald Blair
A thumb injury has limited Blair’s ability to stay on the field in his career, but he has consistently flashed potential when he has been able to line up on the 49ers’ defensive front.
Restricted to six games last season after a three-sack rookie season in 2016, Blair had two sacks and a forced fumble in 2017, all that production coming in just one game, when the 49ers beat the New York Giants to end their wait for a first win.
Putting up five sacks in two seasons is not normally the kind of achievement to elicit anything close to excitement, but it is the fact that Blair has still been able to make an impact, albeit limited, playing in two different schemes in as many years that keeps the intrigue about him alive.
He played 2016 in a 3-4 front before adapting to the 4-3 front run by the current regime, with general manager John Lynch, per Niners Nation, believing he has the flexibility to operate as an LEO pass rusher, a big end and a pass-rushing three-technique defensive tackle in Robert Saleh‘s system.
Though not supremely athletically gifted, Blair did demonstrate bend around the edge when pass rushing against the Giants and even with the defensive line being arguably the 49ers’ deepest position group, his versatility gives him the opportunity to compete for significant snaps if he can stay healthy and impress in camp.
D.J. Jones
A sixth-round pick in 2017, Jones only played in nine games as a rookie but has the skill set to potentially threaten Earl Mitchell‘s role as the starting one-technique defensive tackle.
Jones has displayed impressed leverage when defending the run and has the athleticism in space to suggest he could also make an impact rushing the passer, something the veteran Mitchell struggles to do.
Yet Jones did not play after the Week 10 win over the Giants largely because of the arrival of Sheldon Day who, after being cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars, caught the eye as while playing both the one-technique and the three-technique.
Still only 24 and boasting greater versatility and athleticism than Jones, Day could well block the former Ole Miss defender’s path to increased playing time.
Yet Jones’ potential to emerge as another late-round contributor for the Niners is clear and he and Day are more than capable of leapfrogging Mitchell on the depth chart, providing, of course, the potential demonstrated last season carries over into camp and the preseason.
Fred Warner
Reuben Foster only being suspended for two games may have been seen as the best-case scenario for the 49ers, but it does present them with a legitimate problem at linebacker.
Malcolm Smith, likely to start at WILL linebacker alongside Foster, will probably have to shift to MIKE for the opening two games with the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions, but struggled in pass coverage in his last NFL season in 2016 with the Oakland Raiders, with a pectoral injury then keeping him on the sideline for the Niners last year.
Backup Brock Coyle was similarly deficient in that area in 2017 and, while Korey Toomer is also a candidate to fill the void left by Foster, rookie third-round pick Warner may be the best candidate to start in his stead, with coverage the former BYU team captain’s strength.
Warner had 13 pass deflections and seven interceptions in his BYU career, showcasing the awareness to read the eyes of opposing quarterbacks and receivers, with his combination of instincts and athleticism allowing him to consistently get excellent breaks to the football.
He fits the mold of the modern-day linebacker perfectly and, with Foster out, has the best skill set of the reserve linebackers for the task of keeping two high-powered offenses at bay. How quickly Warner adapts to life in the NFL could be one of the most important storylines for the 49ers as they approach the season.
