Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

The San Francisco 49ers released an updated depth chart for their exhibition game against the Houston Texans on Saturday.  The depth chart, which is released each week for a game, gives you a good indication on who is winning the position battles at training camp.

Two interesting positions listed are at wide receiver and fullback.  On the depth chart at the No. 2 wide receiver, no joke, it lists the players as: Ted Ginn Jr.-or-Randy Moss-or-Mario Manningham.  At fullback, Bruce Miller is listed ahead of Anthony Dixon, which could indicate Jim Harbaugh is leaning towards Miller as the starter again this season.  Dixon had been playing well at training camp, but he did not make much of an impression last week in the win over the Vikings.  It’s time for Dixon to step up if he wants to make the team at fullback.

Here is the full depth chart:

OFFENSE

Wide Receiver: 15 Michael Crabtree, 10 Kyle Williams, 17 A.J. Jenkins, 13 Joe Hastings, 89 Nathan Palmer, 81 Chris Owusu

Left Tackle: 74 Joe Staley, 78 Mike Person, 65 Al Netter

Left Guard: 77 Mike Iupati, 66 Joe Looney, 60 Garrett Chisholm

Center: 59 Jonathan Goodwin, 67 Daniel Kilgore, 61 Chase Beeler, 62 Jason Slowey

Right Guard: 75 Alex Boone, 68 Leonard Davis, 71 Derek Hall

Right Tackle: 76 Anthony Davis, 69 Kenny Wiggins

Tight End: 85 Vernon Davis, 46 Delanie Walker, 88 Konrad Reuland, 40 Demarcus Dobbs, 48 Garrett Celek, 47 Kyle Nelson, 83 Joe Sawyer

Wide Receiver: 19 Ted Ginn Jr. -or- 84 Randy Moss -or- 14 Mario Manningham, 18 Brett Swain, 9 Brian Tyms, 35 Ben Hannula

Fullback: 49 Bruce Miller, 24 Anthony Dixon, 44 Cameron Bell

Running Back: 21 Frank Gore, 32 Kendall Hunter, 45 Brandon Jacobs, 23 LaMichael James, 28 Rock Cartwright

Quarterback: 11 Alex Smith, 7 Colin Kaepernick, 1 Josh Johnson, 3 Scott Tolzien

DEFENSE

Left Defensive Tackle: 91 Ray McDonald, 95 Ricky Jean Francois, 63 Tony Jerod-Eddie, 69 Patrick Butrym

Nose Tackle: 90 Isaac Sopoaga, 93 Ian Williams

Right Defensive Tackle: 94 Justin Smith, 92 Will Tukuafu, 71 Matthew Masifilo

Outside Linebacker: 55 Ahmad Brooks, 98 Parys Haralson, 44 Eric Bakhtiari, 50 Cam Johnson

Inside Linebacker: 53 NaVorro Bowman, 54 Larry Grant, 51 Joe Holland

Inside Linebacker: 52 Patrick Willis, 56 Tavares Gooden, 57 Michael Wilhoite

Outside Linebacker: 99 Aldon Smith, 98 Parys Haralson, 48 Kourtnei Brown, 41 Kenny Rowe

Left Cornerback: 22 Carlos Rogers, 26 Tramaine Brock, 20 Perrish Cox

Right Cornerback: 25 Tarell Brown, 29 Chris Culliver, 33 Anthony Mosley, 40 Deante’ Purvis

Free Safety: 38 Dashon Goldson, 27 C.J. Spillman, 23 Cory Nelms, 43 Colin Jones

Strong Safety: 31 Donte Whitner, 30 Trenton Robinson, 32 Darcel McBath, 36 Michael Thomas

SPECIAL TEAMS

Punt Returner: 19 Ted Ginn Jr., 10 Kyle Williams, 23 LaMichael James

Kickoff Returner: 19 Ted Ginn Jr., 32 Kendall Hunter, 23 LaMichael James

Punter: 4 Andy Lee

Kicker: 2 David Akers, 5 Giorgio Tavecchio

Holder: 4 Andy Lee

Long-snapper: 86 Brian Jennings, 47 Kyle Nelson

Credit: Ed Szczepanski-US PRESSWIRE

The San Francisco 49ers head into their 2012 training camp in late July loaded with deep depth at two positions: running back and wide receiver.  The latter will be the most intriguing position battle of the two because there is no guarantee who will be No. 1 or No. 5 on the depth chart at wide receiver.  At running back we all know Frank Gore will be the main back, with Brandon Jacobs and Kendall Hunter No. 2 and 3 respectively.  Rookie LaMichael James will make the team at the No. 4 spot with Anthony Dixon most likely the odd-man out.  At wide receiver the depth chart is not as set as running back, but with the recent minicamps we are starting to get a clearer picture of who will rank where.

After voluntary and mandatory minicamps, the top two starters on the depth chart at wide receiver are Michael Crabtree and Randy Moss.  Crabtree is coming off career highs in receptions (72) and receiving yards (874) and will be entering training camp with no injuries for the first time in his career.  Also, if the injuries stay away he will play in his first preseason game of his career which will allow for him and quarterback Alex Smith to develop a connection on the field.  Barring an injury or Crabtree having a horrible training camp, he will be the 49ers No. 1 receiver.

Moss will most likely start opposite Crabtree based on how he has played at the minicamps.  The receiver has not conducted an interview but the praise from fellow players and coaches has been nothing but positive.  Still, there is some caution with this as the minicamps did not have any contact or pads.  In addition, Moss last played in the NFL in 2010, on three different teams.  If he can keep it up through training camp there is no reason why he shouldn’t be the No. 2 receiver.

Should Moss falter in training camp, there is Mario Manningham who can take over as the second receiver.  Manningham is more suited as the No. 3 receiver, which he played successfully while in New York, so unless there is an injury or Crabtree or Moss have a horrible camp, this is where he will be penciled in.

The No. 4 spot on the receiver depth chart will be a competition between Kyle Williams, Ted Ginn and rookie A.J. Jenkins.  Williams has been hard at work since the debacle in the NFC Championship game.  Last season Williams showed he is a capable receiver with great quickness after the snap and is good at running routes.  Ginn has shown he can be a reliable receiver but the reason he will make the team is his return abilities on punts and kickoffs.  The 49ers have guaranteed $500K of Ginn’s one-year contract he signed in the offseason, but does that mean he is guaranteed a roster spot?  The only way he does not make the team is if another returner emerges like LaMichael James, but something tells me Jim Harbaugh will not want to place all of the responsibilities in a rookies hands.  Expect Williams to win the competition at the No. 4 slot.

Then there is first round draft pick A.J. Jenkins.  The rookie will make the team but he will be No. 5 on the depth chart.  The 49ers have the luxury of not needing Jenkins to have a breakout rookie season because of their depth at receiver, however, it would still be nice for him to have a great training camp to push the issue for the coaches figuring out the position battle.  Injuries are inevitable, especially at wide receiver, so Jenkins will need to have a solid training camp after two dismal minicamps if wants to move up the depth chart during the season.

Having a crowded bunch at wide receiver is a good thing for the 49ers, particularly because they lacked depth last season after Joshua Morgan broke his leg and Braylon Edwards proved to be a dud.  Williams’ fumble aside, the 49ers lost their chance to go to a sixth Super Bowl because they did not have any depth at wide receiver and thus could not rely on them to make plays on offense.  With the signings of Moss and Manningham, and the selection of Jenkins, the 49ers don’t want to be faced with that situation again.

Jim Harbaugh and his coaches released the 49ers dept chart for the start of the regular season.  There were a few surprise starters on offense and defense. Harbaugh went with veterans over younger players at some positions.  Overall the depth chart is what I expected even with who is starting at quarterback.

On offense the most notable player position on the depth chart is Michael Crabtree who is listed last at wide receiver.  WR’s Joshua Morgan and Ted Ginn Jr. are listed as the starters with Braylon Edwards lining up as the number three receiver in the slot. I thought Edwards would be the number two receiver starting along Morgan but having Ginn on the outside makes sense.  He can use his speed to be the deep threat on the outside with Edwards in the slot position.  Today Crabtree went through his second straight day of full practice and he is expected to suit up on Sunday.  Even if he does Crabtree will be sitting on the sidelines because he has missed all of the preseason with a broken foot.  It will be a while before we see any significant playing time from Crabtree.

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