Niner Noise
FanSided

San Francisco 49ers: 3 best training camp battles of 2018 so far

By Peter Panacy

SANTA CLARA, CA - MAY 10: Eric Reid #35 of the San Francisco 49ers catches a pass during the San Francisco 49ers rookie minicamp at their training facility on May 10, 2013 in Santa Clara, California. Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - MAY 10: Eric Reid #35 of the San Francisco 49ers catches a pass during the San Francisco 49ers rookie minicamp at their training facility on May 10, 2013 in Santa Clara, California. Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images) /
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SANTA CLARA, CA – NOVEMBER 26: Reuben Foster #56 and Brock Coyle #50 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrate after tackling Tyler Lockett #16 of the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium on November 26, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA – NOVEMBER 26: Reuben Foster #56 and Brock Coyle #50 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrate after tackling Tyler Lockett #16 of the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium on November 26, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

No. 1: Inside Linebacker

A year ago, the 49ers’ linebacker situation was marked with injury and inconsistency for most of the season. Then-rookie Reuben Foster missed six games with an ankle issue, veteran linebacker Malcolm Smith was out for all of 2017 with a pectoral injury and the Niners were forced to press perennial special teams ace Brock Coyle into a starting gig for much of the year.

All that, combined with Foster’s two arrests this offseason, forced San Francisco to stockpile linebackers. One of the first was free-agent pickup Korey Toomer, who played in a similar defense under Los Angeles Chargers coordinator Gus Bradley a year ago. And then the Niners grabbed BYU’s Fred Warner in the 2018 NFL Draft.

But with Foster’s legal issues resulting in a mere two-game suspension, the 49ers are now faced with the reality of having too many linebackers on the roster.

It’s not a bad problem to have. And so far, the competition has looked great.

According to 49ers.com’s Joe Fann, Foster has been a force on the field and is flying around in the same fashion that made him a household name a year ago:

And while the 49ers are working with Foster on a safer tackling technique, it’s clear he’s going to hold a massive responsibility for San Francisco’s defense this upcoming season.

Coyle appears to be receiving a lot of responsibility too, as is Smith. Both are likely to see plenty of playing time during Foster’s suspension.

Meanwhile, Toomer saw some time with the first-team unit, and Robert Saleh told reporters the plan on having a good rotation at linebacker depending on packages.

All the while, Warner has flashed the excellent coverage ability that made him such a standout at BYU. It’s likely he’ll start the season as San Francisco’s primary coverage linebacker in sub packages, perhaps rotating in as an every-down player as the season moves along.