San Francisco 49ers: Training Camp Starts Saturday, What Should Fans Look For?

The San Francisco 49ers officially kick off 2016 training camp on Saturday, July 30. We’ve been previewing a number of things leading up to training camp, but let’s go over the final bits of review for the Niners at this crucial stage of the team’s development.

The long and seemingly endless period of little-to-no NFL action is coming to a close, and the San Francisco 49ers are gearing up for training camp, the preseason and, finally, the start of the 2016 slate of regular-season games.

Yes, football is finally upon us, and fans can start planning for Sunday action, which will take us through the rest of the calendar year and into the early weeks of 2017. It’s a good time of the year.

Training camp holds a little more importance for the 49ers this year. New head coach Chip Kelly ushers in a new era in San Francisco history, and the team is faced with a plethora of questions and challenges facing the franchise as it goes through a major transformation.

Amidst all this, what should fans pay attention to in camp?

To put it simply, almost everything. This Niners group is nothing like the teams that dominated the NFC between 2011 and 2013. San Francisco is comprised of a very young roster, a number of up-and-coming players and more than a few concerns across the board.

One of the first orders of business will be getting the players accustomed to new schemes under Kelly and defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil.

This isn’t a unique challenge, as any team facing coaching changes has to go through the same sort of thing. But for a young Niners squad, adapting to what Kelly will run on both sides of the ball will be a task not everyone can grasp fully.

Which players do so the best will go a long way in determining the final regular-season roster.

Position Battles

Pick a position on the 49ers roster and, chances are, there’s going to be a hefty position battle there.

A few come to mind right off the bat — wide receiver, cornerback, both inside and outside linebacker spots, the right side of the offensive line, depth along the defensive line and, most notably, at quarterback.

Wide receiver Torrey Smith is slated as the team’s No. 1 target. And that’s fine. But who occupies the No. 2 role? Third-year pro Bruce Ellington could be a vital factor, as Joe Fann of 49ers.com pointed out, but injuries and inconsistency leave some doubts.

Or maybe another receiver, kept deep on San Francisco’s depth chart previously, winds up turning some heads.

At cornerback, the Niners seem content to start Tramaine Brock and Jimmie Ward on the outside. But who plays the nickel position, and how does the depth chart pan out. San Francisco currently has 10 corners on their roster competing for what, six slots?

D-line depth is something of interest, although this group looks to be one of the stronger units on the team right now. The same can’t be said about the linebacker position, outside of NaVorro Bowman. Outside linebacker Aaron Lynch’s four-game suspension to start 2016 doesn’t help matters at all.

And quarterback? Well, can Colin Kaepernick pass up Blaine Gabbert?

Quarterbacking Controversy

Kaepernick will have to do more than just match Gabbert during camp and into the preseason. Kap will have to prove, far and away, he’s the better option — something easier said than done.

In all likelihood, Gabbert has the lead in this crucial competition. And it’s going to take a near-perfect effort from Kaepernick to turn the table here. While possible, fans have to consider how Kap ended his 2015 efforts and all the drama associated with his offseason relationship with San Francisco’s front office.

We should expect Gabbert to receive all the first-team reps. After all, he had all these during OTAs and minicamp, while Kaepernick was still rehabbing from offseason medical procedures.

The preseason, going up against actual NFL defenses from other teams, will be a major deciding point between these two.

Oh, and how Kelly utilizes either guy — and how each quarterback is able to operate in the system — will go a long way too.

Players to Watch

With so many questions at a large number of positions, one could make the argument all the 49ers players are worthy of attention.

Yes, there are more than a handful of spots up for grabs. But we can focus attention on some key figures on both sides of the ball — individual efforts which will determine a lot about how San Francisco is formulated in 2016.

Two names to consider are defensive ends Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner.

The former University of Oregon D-line tandem has a reputation for wreaking havoc on opposing pockets, which will go a long way in establishing pressure on other teams’ quarterbacks — an issue the Niners faced last year and responded with a mere 28 sacks, which ranked 29th in the NFL.

But, as Chris Biderman of USA Today’s Niners Wire pointed out, the one crucial area to monitor for these guys will be how they stop the run, especially in sub packages.

Watch how these two react to this challenge, and there’s a good chance it will reveal how effective the 49ers run defense will be in 2016.

Formulating the 53-Man Roster

San Francisco’s current roster stands at 90 players (actually, it’s 89 following the retirement of DT Kaleb Ramsey), and the last spot feasibly opens up for retired right tackle Anthony Davis if he’s reinstated.

Davis likely gets a roster spot, but it’s anyone’s guess whether or not he starts right away after being away from football for a year.

There are plenty of players on the roster bubble though. As noted earlier, there are a number of cornerbacks competing for a handful of spots. The same goes for wide receiver too. And only a handful of others are surefire roster-spot holders entering camp.

On the positive side of things, competition certainly can bring out the best efforts in players.

No job is safe at the NFL level, so keep an eye on how fringe and bubble-watch players perform in camp. Chances are the risers will be names who wind up sticking around after four weeks of preseason action.

The fallers, well, no amount of pro-level experience or collegiate-level hype will guarantee a spot.

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The coming days and weeks are going to be very interesting for San Francisco, as the team officially reports on July 30. Padded practices start not long afterwards, and we’ll be able to get a glimpse into how Kelly’s 49ers are coming along as they face so many questions.

Hopefully, there are more good signs than bad. And we should hope for the best while fully expecting the rebuilding phase of this franchise to continue.

Next: 49ers Training Camp: Full 2016 Preview for San Francisco

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated.