Photo credit: 49ers

Practice report

Tuesday was the first time reporters were able to observe padded practice with a relatively clear view of the field. It was the first time the offensive and defensive line battles were readily apparent. Here’s how the quarterbacks performed:

• Jimmy Garoppolo: 11-for-17, got to start letting loose more than on Monday, frequently connected with Jerick McKinnon, Brandon Aiyuk (four times) Trent Taylor and Dante Pettis.
• C.J. Beathard: 6-for-8, fumbled a snap that resulted in having to chuck a ball dead, connected with Trent Taylor on a deep ball against Jamar Taylor. Mostly relegated to short passes.
• Nick Mullens: 7-for-11, had a nice connection with Dante Pettis fairly deep over the middle of the field but simultaneously missed out on what would have been the only touchdown of the day, as a wide open Trent Taylor streaked past Marcell Harris easily down the middle of the field. Best play of the day was a perfectly weighted pass in a third-down situation which was high enough for Jauan Jennings to snag it over Jamar Taylor

And the standouts:

• Dante Pettis: Caught all five of his targeted passes, was consistently finding gaps in the defense and sitting down in them. Looked far less tentative than he was last season.
• Trent Taylor: Caught four of his five targets, continues to look like the team’s best wide receiver. Is demonstrating versatility outside of the slot and a propensity for toe-tapping sideline catches.
• Brandon Aiyuk: Like Taylor, caught four of five targets, many of which were of the side-to-side variety, allowing him to explode upfield. His day was best defined by one of those shorter passes from Beathard in which he tore towards the secondary for a nearly 20-yard gain.
• Jerick McKinnon: McKinnon remains the second-best running back in camp thus far, looking above all, fluid, and bursting through holes with ease. He was targeted four times.
• Jeff Wilson Jr.: Wilson showed his receiving prowess with an outstanding one-handed grab in one-on-ones before reaffirming while he’ll be so difficult to cut (aside from the fact that he’d likely be signed elsewhere) with a handful of impressive runs and yards after catches.
• Tarvarius Moore: Moore is mostly playing with the second team, but man is he playing like a starter. He had a pair of pass breakups in one-on-one drills before covering off a deep pass to Trent Taylor which went incomplete. The 49ers will get creative to get him involved this year.
• Nick Bosa: Bosa beat Trent Williams badly for at least one would-be sack, nearly running into Jimmy Garoppolo, and had to be consistently chipped or schemed away from to be dealt with.
• Kerry Hyder: Hyder looks like an elite backup option for the 49ers, especially with Ronald Blair III still rehabbing after tearing his ACL. He had one would-be sack and a pass breakup at the line of scrimmage, warranting heaps of praise from defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. Saleh notoriously loves Blair and said defensive line coach Kris Kocurek feels the same way about Hyder, who he coached in Detroit during his career-high 8.0-sack season in 2016. Injuries, including an ACL tear, have changed his career trajectory.

• “I would equate the man crush I have on Ronnie Blair to Kocurek’s man crush with Kerry,” Saleh said. “Not to say that Kocurek doesn’t love all his D-Linemen, but Kerry is a very reliable, not a grunt work, but he will get dirty. He’ll get grimy. He can rush the passer. He can do a lot of different things. You can ask him to do a lot of different things. So, we’re excited that Kerry’s here and he’s made a great first impression… He’s just very reliable.”

Center position getting thin, two potential additions incoming

Weston Richburg is still on the physically unable to perform list after surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon, leaving Ben Garland as the backup center, a role he took on down the final stretch of the regular season and through the Super Bowl. The 49ers signed G/C Spencer Long for depth, but he retired three days after signing.

Garland started in 11-on-11s, but early on was relegated to the sidelines with an ankle injury, leaving Daniel Brunskill, who on Monday said he thought he might play all five positions this season, as the team’s starting center. The only other option the 49ers had and used was Ross Reynolds, the former Iowa man.

Per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the team brought in former Bears starting center Hroniss Grasu for a visit, in addition to working out safety Jonathan Cyprien.

#49ers are working out S Jonathan Cyprien this week. Also had former #Bears starting C Hroniss Grasu in for a visit.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 18, 2020

‘Wide open’ competition at corner

On Monday, Emmanuel Moseley was with the starters. On Tuesday, Ahkello Witherspoon was, with Jason Verrett often stepping in for Richard Sherman with the starting unit. Sherman was involved in practice, but not heavily involved in 11-on-11s. He took a number of veteran days and limiting him would be an unsurprising approach by the team.

Saleh said Tuesday it’s anyone’s job.

“The corner spot opposite Sherm, obviously we’d like to see a competition over there,” Saleh said. “It is wide open, if you want to call it that. We’re just trying to give guys opportunities to go win that job. As far as it goes as Verrett is concerned, he’s been looking good. He looks a lot more comfortable. He looks a lot more confident. It’s just a matter of him getting back into the feel of it. It’s been a while for him where he’s been able to put together a full training camp. He’s off to a good start.”

Kinlaw, drafted as a raw, athletic player, looks raw, athletic

Javon Kinlaw has been working mainly with the starting defensive line unit in him, D.J. Jones, Dee Ford and Nick Bosa, but when Arik Armstead gets involved he may well move back to the second unit. He has shown flashes of his raw power and dynamic get-off, but he’s clearly got to work into better shape and develop some polish in his game.

He knows this, though, and so does defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. Kinlaw was drafted as a player revered for his size (6’5″, 311 pounds), and elite get off. At South Carolina, he barreled through opposing interior offensive linemen and eventually, he’ll likely do the same in the NFL. But his technique has yet to be refined.

“For him, he’s like every rookie,” Saleh said. “It’s the fourth day of camp. Legs are probably getting a little bit heavier, but we’re excited to have him. He showed a lot of explosive movements through individual drills in the first ten days and he is a very large human being, very powerful man. He just needs to continue to grind and lean on the veterans in that room and continue to get better every day.”

In a Zoom call with media on Tuesday, Kinlaw said he’s largely focusing on his power rushes, and credited Kocurek, a “madman,” as he called him, for not cutting him slack, or easing him into drills. He has, however, appeared to be somewhat limited in individual drills, occasionally with his helmet off. Kinlaw did not address that, but said he’s seeing daily improvements.

Asked how he’d evaluate his performance thus far, he smiled before giving a fairly harsh self-assessment.

“I’ll be lying if I thought it was good, but I mean, I’m making improvements,” Kinlaw said. “That’s the main thing, just get better, day by day. That’s it, that’s all I’m really trying to do. I knew coming in that it wasn’t gonna be easy, so I already had to prepare myself for that. I see the improvements daily.”

Kinlaw was never going to be Nick Bosa, a player who Shanahan described Monday as someone who has understood pass rushing technique since he “came out of the womb, because he’s been made to rush the passer.” Saleh pointed to “professional workout crew” of Bosa and his older brother Joey, with their father, John, a former NFL defensive lineman, and their strict eating and workout regimens.

That was not going to be the case for Kinlaw. Much like Arik Armstead and even DeForest Buckner (a strong foundation, but needed technical work like every rookie), he needs to improve his technique. He might be further behind those players at this point than they were, but his also more physically domineering and realized he’d be at a disadvantage, especially with a shortened training camp, no OTAs and no rookie minicamp.

“Nothing really caught me by surprise because I knew it was gonna be faster, I knew it was gonna be stronger,” Kinlaw said. “I knew I was gonna be fatigued, so nothing really surprised me. I knew I was gonna have to work on pad level, hand placement and things like that. I knew I wasn’t gonna have you know the best craft, so nothing really caught me by surprise.”

Fred Warner gets a ‘very, very stern’ talking to

As Jimmy Garoppolo targeted Tavon Austin for the first time on Tuesday, with the fourth rep of his third slate of 11-on-11s, it looked, for just a moment, like there would be a clean connection.

Then Fred Warner gave Austin what you might call a truck stick in Madden, hitting him at least chest high at full speed, knocking the ball loose and sending Austin quickly to the ground. It was a moment that elicited, “Ooooohs” and whistles from around the field. Maybe Warner still thought Austin played for the Rams.

And, of course, a warning from Saleh, who did not enjoy what he saw.

“I’m going to be very, very honest,” Saleh said. “Kyle and myself, all of us were very, very, stern with protecting one another and taking care of the team. So, my first reaction when he hits his teammate is, ‘Ah, is the offensive player alright?’ You don’t want to see it in practice. I wish we had preseason games so we can get it in there. But honestly, my reaction goes right to the offense. It’s just whether or not the person he hit is all right. I’m not much fun on that one. I’m not going to lie to you.”