It is entirely too early for a real guess at the 49ers’ 53-man roster. Rookie minicamp hasn’t happened. Neither have OTAs. Alas, rolling through the exercise of projecting the team’s initial roster after the preseason ends gives a good idea of what parts of the depth chart might look like, where the real position battles will be, and what parts of the roster the team needs to improve.
Let’s make our first, essentially blindfolded, of several attempts at guessing what the 49ers’ 53-man roster will look like after final cuts.
Note: These will change throughout the offseason and training camp. Rookies will be indicated with two asterisks.
Quarterback (3)
Brock Purdy
Trey Lance
Sam Darnold
Usually early projections have the 49ers carrying two QBs, but after last year they’re closer to carrying four than two.
Running back (4)
Christian McCaffrey
Elijah Mitchell
Jordan Mason
Tyrion Davis-Price
Davis-Price’s place on the roster is far from a sure thing. He and Mason both will need strong camps to carve out spots on the roster, but it feels like four RBs is the right number considering some of the injury issues they’ve had there the last couple years.
Fullback (1)
Kyle Juszczyk
This is the easiest one on the projections every year.
Wide receiver (5)
Deebo Samuel
Brandon Aiyuk
Jauan Jennings
Ray-Ray McCloud
Ronnie Bell**
Danny Gray is the odd man out here, but his absence is why we do the early projection. He has game-changing speed that could significantly impact the 49ers’ offense if he can find his way onto the field more often. That means improving as a blocker and getting open in more than just the deep areas of the field. Contributing on special teams would help his cause too.
Tight end (4)
George Kittle
Charlie Woerner
Cameron Latu**
Brayden Willis**
Both draft picks make it for now with Ross Dwelley missing the cut. Willis and Latu are just different enough that they can both contribute even in small ways as rookies.
Offensive line (8)
Trent Williams
Aaron Banks
Jake Brendel
Spencer Burford
Colton McKivitz
Jaylon Moore
Jon Feliciano
Nick Zakelj
There isn’t a ton of depth for San Francisco in the trenches. This group of eight could get to 10 depending on how camp goes. Given how little they invested in the line this offseason there aren’t a ton of names that have to make the team. These eight jump out for now and have enough versatility amongst them to cover the necessary reserve spots.
Defensive line (10)
Nick Bosa
Arik Armstead
Javon Hargrave
Drake Jackson
Javon Kinlaw
Kerry Hyder
Clelin Ferrell
Kevin Givens
Robert Beal Jr.**
Kalia Davis
There’s a chance the 49ers go with more depth on the interior and let one of Ferrell or Beal go in favor of Marlon Davidson or T.Y. McGill. Austin Bryant is the odd man out for now on the edge, but he’ll have plenty of opportunities to find a role in the rotation.
Linebacker (5)
Fred Warner
Dre Greenlaw
Oren Burks
Marcelino McCrary-Ball
Jalen Graham**
Linebacker is a really tough spot to figure out. For now McCrary-Ball fills the Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles spot, while seventh-round pick Graham lands a job over sixth-round pick Dee Winters. Flannigan-Fowles familiarity with the team may earn him the Sam LB job. There’s a ton to iron out at LB.
Cornerback (5)
Charvarius Ward
Deommodore Lenoir
Isaiah Oliver
Samuel Womack
Darrell Luter Jr.**
Luter, the fifth-round pick, gets the nod over Ambry Thomas for now. Thomas had a really strong finish to his rookie season in 2021 before becoming largely a non-factor last year. He misses the cut here, but come training camp he could find himself in the mix for a starting job.
Safety (5)
Talanoa Hufanga
Tashaun Gipson
Ji’Ayir Brown**
George Odum
Myles Hartsfield
Five is a lot of safeties, but Hartsfield’s ability to play both spots and nickel corner gives him some flexibility on the roster. Odum’s special teams skill set should earn him a spot with the third-round pick Brown, and last year’s starters Gipson and Hufanga. Hartsfield’s versatility and familiarity with defensive coordinator Steve Wilks makes him an easy pick to find a roster spot.
Specialists (3)
Jake Moody**
Mitch Wishnowsky
Taybor Pepper
Moody wins the kicker battle with Zane Gonzalez.
