The 49ers on Tuesday begin training camp, which means its time for a new 53-man roster projection!
Our last projection came ahead of OTAs and saw a handful of small tweaks after those sessions.
Position battles and roster spots are still wide open, and the 53-man projection gives a great look at just how much the 49ers will have going on down toward the bottom of their roster and on the back end of their depth chart.
Here’s our best guess at San Francisco’s initial 53-man roster before camp begins:
Quarterback (3)
Brock Purdy
Trey Lance
Sam Darnold
No changes here for now. Barring something dramatic happening during camp, this trio will make up the 49ers’ QB room in 2023.
Running back (4)
Christian McCaffrey
Elijah Mitchell
Jordan Mason
Khalan Laborn (Rookie)
Laborn over Tyrion Davis-Price is the only change here, and it’s more a product of the 49ers’ history of finding productive undrafted rookies than anything Davis-Price has or hasn’t done since our last projection. The roster at RB is far from set.
Fullback (1)
Kyle Juszczyk
No reason to believe Juszczyk is relinquishing his roster spot any time soon. The one wrinkle could come via undrafted rookie Jack Colletto proving to be an invaluable Swiss Army Knife and carving out a roster spot as the backup fullback.
Wide receiver (5)
Deebo Samuel
Brandon Aiyuk
Jauan Jennings
Ray-Ray McCloud
Ronnie Bell (Rookie)
This is the same five wide receivers from the last projection. It’s not out of the question they keep six receivers, and it’s certainly not a lock that Bell, a seventh-round pick, makes the team.
Tight end (4)
George Kittle
Charlie Woerner
Ross Dwelley
Cameron Latu (Rookie)
One small change here is seventh-round pick Brayden Willis missing the cut with Dwelley sliding into that fourth TE spot. Latu is a third-round pick and a virtual lock to make the team. Willis could wind up playing his way into a spot, but to start camp it makes sense for the more experienced player to earn the nod.
Offensive line (9)
Trent Williams
Aaron Banks
Jake Brendel
Spencer Burford
Colton McKivitz
Jaylon Moore
Jon Feliciano
Matt Pryor
Nick Zakelj
Pryor gets the nod here since second-year OL Nick Zakelj who’s still making the move from tackle to center. Another season to focus on the position change may be helpful for Zakelj’s long-term development while Pryor is a veteran who offers guard/tackle versatility on a roster that desperately needs depth on the outside.
Defensive line (10)
Nick Bosa
Arik Armstead
Javon Hargrave
Drake Jackson
Javon Kinlaw
Kerry Hyder
Clelin Ferrell
Kevin Givens
Robert Beal Jr. (Rookie)
Kalia Davis
This group stays the same, but a shakeup could come via free agent signing, or players like Austin Bryant, T.Y. McGill and Marlon Davidson showing out in camp.
Linebacker (5)
Fred Warner
Dre Greenlaw
Oren Burks
Marcelino McCrary-Ball
Jalen Graham (Rookie)
Warner and Greenlaw will sit atop the 49ers’ depth chart at linebacker. Everything after that is a huge question mark. We’ll leave the group as is with the caveat that Dee Winters, Curtis Robinson and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles are all very much in the mix.
Cornerback (5)
Charvarius Ward
Deommodore Lenoir
Isaiah Oliver
Samuel Womack
Ambry Thomas
Thomas gets in over rookie fifth-round pick Darrell Luter Jr. who was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list by San Francisco prior to training camp starting. Going on PUP to start camp isn’t exceedingly helpful for a rookie battling for a roster spot. Thomas gets the nod, but his inclusion on the roster will depend largely on whether he can bounce back from a dreadful 2022 season.
Safety (4)
Talanoa Hufanga
Tashaun Gipson
Ji’Ayir Brown (Rookie)
George Odum
Myles Hartsfield was on our initial projection, but left off of this one because of a numbers crunch at some other positions. Versatility could allow Hartsfield to fit on the roster. Ideally Brown, a third-round rookie, would provide that necessary versatility in the secondary.
Specialists (3)
Jake Moody (Rookie)
Mitch Wishnowsky
Taybor Pepper
This group is the same and very unlikely to change.
