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Predicting 49ers 2016 53-Man Roster After OTAs

By Jerod Brown

Aug 15, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; General view of golden NFL shield logo in the end zone to commemorate Super Bowl 50 during the preseason NFL game between San Francisco 49ers and the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 15, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; General view of golden NFL shield logo in the end zone to commemorate Super Bowl 50 during the preseason NFL game between San Francisco 49ers and the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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The San Francisco 49ers have now had multiple practices open to the media in preparation for training camp. After OTAs, which players are standing out and what does a potential 53-man roster look like?

Dec 26, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly during the fourth quarter against the Washington Redskins at Lincoln Financial Field. The Redskins defeated the Eagles, 38-24. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 26, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly during the fourth quarter against the Washington Redskins at Lincoln Financial Field. The Redskins defeated the Eagles, 38-24. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /

The San Francisco 49ers held an open practice for the media on Wednesday and defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil made himself available for a brief press conference.

Organized team activities, or OTAs for short, are relatively watered-down versions of practice for teams. As such, it is hard to be sure about how these players will perform throughout summer.

After all, every one of these guys looks like an athletic freak in shorts and shirts.

San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke will have to trim this roster down to 53 players by August and many of those choices will be influenced by the coaching staff’s reports. In cutting down the roster from 90 players to 53, Baalke and Kelly will have to determine which players offer versatility.

With limited practice time and roster spots, players that can do multiple things provide tremendous benefit and can win roster spots on that alone. With an eye towards the future in mind, let’s try cutting down the roster ourselves.

For clarity, I’ll provide a sentence or two about each player and note who likely winds up as starters. Remember, the team can build a practice squad of eligible players and may pull from that group throughout the season. So, if a player doesn’t start the regular season on the active roster, have no fear. He could get there.

With that, let’s predict a 53-man roster after the most-recent OTA open to the media.

Next: Quarterbacks