The 49ers on Tuesday released an unofficial depth chart ahead of their season opener vs. the Bears on Sunday. While the depth chart isn’t compiled by the coaching staff, it’s still an interesting look at what we can expect to see in the starting lineups Week 1.
We can also from there figure out which of those players are cemented in their starting spots, and which ones could eventually come up for grabs as the season moves forward.
One starter that jumps out right away is free safety George Odum, who’s in there as a fill-in for Jimmie Ward who’s on IR with a hamstring injury. He’ll miss at least the first four weeks, but we’ve not included Odum in our list since his play won’t dictate whether he’s starting. Ward will come back and start at the free safety spot even if Odum plays like an All-Pro through the first handful of games.
A slew of other names jump out though when it comes to players who might be replaced during the regular season.
QB Trey Lance
Look. This would be a disastrous outcome for the 49ers which is why head coach Kyle Shanahan is going to hold off as long as humanly possible on making any changes under center. However, the door opened when Jimmy Garoppolo walked back through it into the 49ers’ facility. Ideally Lance will start all 17 games, and he’d have to be an unmitigated disaster to get benched. That certainly wasn’t even on the table when it was Nate Sudfeld and Brock Purdy backing him up, but it is now that Garoppolo is sitting at No. 2 on the depth chart. Please do not yell at me on the internet.
DE Samson Ebukam
The 49ers may rotate their defensive ends so much that the ‘starter’ label becomes relatively moot. Ebukam’s spot in the starting lineup though could be in jeopardy depending on the development of rookie DE Drake Jackson. If Jackson gets out to a hot start while Ebukam is slow off the blocks like he was last year, the 49ers could feature the rookie more heavily through the middle part of the season at the expense of some of Ebukam’s snaps.
WR Jauan Jennings
Okay, so he’s not technically not a starter. He’s listed behind Deebo Samuel with Brandon Aiyuk as the starting wide receiver on the other side. Jennings figures to be the No. 3 in three-receiver sets though which the 49ers rolled with nearly half the time last year. His elite blocking will give him some room for mistakes as a pass catcher, but it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that one of either Danny Gray or Ray-Ray McCloud prove to be a more explosive playmaker and cut into Jennings’ work. If Jennings can pick up where he left off last season though his spot should be safe.
CB Samuel Womack
Womack is listed as the starting nickel corner and figured to have that job sealed up after the first week of the preseason when he snagged two interceptions and then the 49ers cut his main competition for the job. His starting spot isn’t permanent though since he’s yet to play a regular season NFL snap. There’s a world where he struggles and the 49ers have to shuffle their secondary some to move a different player into the nickel role. There’s also a world where he’s awesome and the 49ers have another home run fifth-round pick. The 49ers will give the rookie opportunities to play through mistakes, but that leash won’t be exceedingly long considering how badly their secondary impacted them getting in a hole early last season.
Interior OL
All three players on the interior fit this criteria. Left guard Aaron Banks, center Jake Brendel and right guard Spencer Burford will all be under a microscope this season after an up-and-down showing in the preseason. Brendel held his own for the most part, but he’s too important at center to let really struggle through the year. Banks and Burford are also candidates to be replaced, though they should have a little more leeway. Daniel Brunskill would be the favorite to take over at any of the three spots once he’s healthy, but recently-acquired Blake Hance is also a candidate with some experience at multiple OL spots.
