Three under-the-radar 49ers camp battles
The story of 49ers training camp, so far, is who is not there.
All-Pro wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk isn’t practicing. He’s injured with a case of the Iwannanewcontract. All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams has the same ailment, and it’s keeping him away from the facility altogether.
And until those two players find a cure — or at least a short-term resolution to this terrible disease — it’s going to be hard to focus on what’s actually happening on the field.
I want to be clear: I was on vacation (which is just parenting in a different state) and have been to one training camp practice.
But that doesn’t mean I didn’t get the low-down from folks who were in position.
And with rookie OTAs and minicamp before this, wheels were already in motion.
The 49ers present themselves as a ready-made product, and in many cases they are.
But there are three storylines — call them camp battles, if you must — that stand out to me as we head into the serious portion of the preseason.
Inevitability vs. the veteran
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» The incumbent at the position, Jake Brendel, is going to receive every opportunity and a few more to hold onto the starting center job. But there is no question that rookie undrafted free agent Drake Nugent is the future for the 49ers at that position — and the remainder of the preseason should only further prove that point.
This situation could become messy, and fast.
Nugent is already pushing for more reps in practice, and the more he impresses coaches, who love his tenacity and explosion off the line, the tougher it becomes for the 49ers to cut him at the end of training camp and put him on the practice squad — the team’s original plan for him.
Now, the Stanford and Michigan alum can play some guard, but the Niners are not going to keep a backup center on the 53-man roster.
Luckily, there are 31 other teams that will likely pass, too.
Then again, word gets out and teams can get funky in the last week of August. I’m already being asked by folks around the league about “The Nuge.”
So keep an eye on the man who has the ball.
There’s a long, long, long way to go before this is an issue, but if the Niners feel as if they cannot easily stash Nugent, they might be so bold as to make a switch at the end of camp.
Five vs. six
» The NFL’s new kickoff rule has dorks like me all excited. After all, it’s a fundamental shift to the sport — and one that could have significant consequences in games.
And perhaps that will be the case for a week or two.
There were four kick return touchdowns in the NFL last season. Broncos coach Sean Payton suggested earlier this year that number should grow into the double-digits.
Watching the 49ers, and hearing from other training camps, Payton’s suggestion might be conservative.
That is if teams actually kick off.
Here’s what I suspect will happen: the new kickoff rule will work exactly as it was intended during the preseason and perhaps even the beginning of the regular season. Teams will kick it — probably as a low, line-drive — and the return teams are going to pick up big gains and touchdowns.
And then teams are going to start kicking the ball out of the back of the end zone.
The new penalty for a typical touchback is the ball is placed on the 30-yard line. That’s five yards in front of the old mark, 10 yards ahead of the old, old touchback.
Five yards didn’t scare anyone off last time, and it won’t scare teams off this time.
For most NFL teams special teams are about risk mitigation. The goal isn’t to help teams win games, it’s to ensure the game isn’t lost.
NFL head coaches will gladly eat five yards over the risk of six points.
The new kickoff rule is well-thought-out and could bring in some serious fun.
But the NFL is still the No Fun League, at least when it comes to coaches’ game management.
Don’t expect fireworks come mid-September.
Brains vs. juice
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» The 49ers signed former All-Pro linebacker De’Vondre Campbell after Dre Greenlaw tore his Achilles tendon in the Super Bowl and Eric Kendricks backed out of a deal with the Niners to start free agency.
The idea is that Campbell, a veteran with 123 NFL games under his belt, can hold down the weak-side linebacker spot next to Fred Warner while Greenlaw recovers.
And Campbell might just fulfill that mandate.
But Jalen Graham and Dee Winters aren’t going to make it easy for him.
Campbell has said that he feels rejuvenated in Santa Clara — he’s loving the game again. Sadly, that has not shown up in his play. He still looks like a slower version of the once-excellent player he once was.
That still might be good enough, but the 49ers have to consider using Graham and/or Winters in Week 1 if they continue to impress in camp.
Greenlaw wasn’t the most technically sound linebacker. (This, of course, is giving him an immense amount of credit.) He wasn’t a coach on the field, either — always in the right position.
But Greenlaw was a great player for the Niners because no one played harder or faster. He was a crazed man after the snap of the ball and that energy permeated the entire defense.
Campbell, from what I’ve seen and heard, isn’t replicating that in the slightest. To play him would be to introduce a different dynamic to the defense. That could be good or bad, but more likely the latter.
Meanwhile Graham and particularly Winters clearly understood what made Greenlaw so important to this defense. They are flying around the field.
If you didn’t know any better, you might even confuse Winters for Greenlaw for a snap or two.
The weak-side linebacker was — and will remain — a position of concern for this team. That’s even after Greenlaw returns to the fold.
But in the early days of camp, the Niners can at least say they have multiple options for the job.
Someone is going to claim that gig. That’s so much better than it being handed to someone.
