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San Francisco 49ers: 5 Players Who Will Shine in Training Camp

By Trevor Irvine

Jun 8, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers linebackers huddle during minicamp at the San Francisco 49ers Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 8, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers linebackers huddle during minicamp at the San Francisco 49ers Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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San Francisco 49ers
Aug 15, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; San Francisco 49ers linebacker Eli Harold (58) against the Houston Texans in a preseason NFL football game at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Eli Harold

My colleagues in Sequoia Sims and Peter Panacy wrote excellent pieces earlier this week about the opportunity for Harold now that Lynch has been suspended the first four games of the regular season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

Indeed, Harold can “invigorate the pass rush” and be an “unsung hero” for the 49ers defense in the regular season. But it all starts now at training camp.

Harold was a third-round draft pick last year out of Virginia. He showed the ability to rush the passer in school. In his three seasons, he totaled 141 tackles (36.5 for loss), 17.5 sacks, two interceptions and three forced fumbles.

However, the 49ers were hoping to see a similar level of production last season. Obviously as a rookie it is a massive challenge to perform and perform well against a much higher level of competition.

But, for all intents and purposes, he had a disappointing rookie year. He played in all 16 games, but only managed eight tackles, 1 fumble recovery and zero sacks. Per Pro Football Focus (subscription required) Harold ranked 74th out of 110 qualified edge defenders with a grade of plus-66.1 (from a zero to 100 scale), with a plus-63.7 pass rush grade and a plus-74.7 run defense grade.

Solid numbers, but far from earth shattering, or even difference-making.

As Panacy noted, Harold likely played underweight last season, and was asked to get bigger and stronger this offseason by general manager Trent Baalke. Harold should be around the 265-270 pound mark for training camp, which should make him much more powerful to shed blocks and utilize other power rush techniques to get to the opposing QB.

The 49ers pass rush was simply anemic last season. Who knows what attitude Ahmad Brooks will have. Tank Carradine has lost a bunch of weight and is moving to outside linebacker. He has yet shown the capability to effectively rush the passer either.

Defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil is probably going to employ a rotation of pass-rushers by utilizing different schemes and blitz packages. For Harold, he has a clean slate in this camp to show his wares. Can he show some power now? He has a direct competitor in camp who will practice (Lynch) but will be absent during the important first four games of the season.

Harold will have learnt a lot during his rookie season, and he will see this camp as a golden opportunity to shine and to seize the opportunity.

Next: Carlos Hyde