49ers training camp roundup: Defense on top, Jalen Hurd fights twice

The San Francisco 49ers seemed to make the most of day two of training camp practices on Sunday, which also included some scuffles from rookie wideout Jalen Hurd.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo wasn’t quite as sharp on Sunday as he was during the team’s opening day of training camp practices yesterday.

Garoppolo completed just five of 13 passes during 11-on-11 drills and was picked off once by cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, who was covering wide receiver Dante Pettis. The day before, Garoppolo had gone 6-of-8 on these full-team sessions.

The good news, however, is Garoppolo doesn’t appear to be showing signs of his 2018 ACL tear, moving well within the pocket and not looking hindered by the knee brace on his left leg.

Still, Sunday’s practices were almost entirely about the defense.

Witherspoon’s pick should help go a long way in ensuring he bounces back from what was otherwise a forgettable 2018 campaign. His counterpart, Richard Sherman, also had a quality pass breakup against wide receiver Jordan Matthews.

Linebacker Fred Warner, who had missed a sizable chunk of spring workouts after a minor surgical procedure, appeared to force a fumble off the hands of running back Tevin Coleman, per the San Jose Mercury News’ Cam Inman.

This is good news for Warner and the 49ers defense, which managed a mere seven turnovers in 2018. Warner, who led the team with 124 tackles last season, is primarily known for his pass defense. Seeing him active against the run is a great sign at this point, although it’s far too soon to gauge what ends up happening, of course. The pads haven’t even come on yet.

Wide receiver Trent Taylor also had a long touchdown grab off the hands of quarterback Nick Mullens. Taylor looks like he’s fully recovered from last year’s back injury.

On Saturday, it seemed San Francisco’s pass rush was the biggest defensive standout, regularly generating pressure and would-be sacks.

Sunday, meanwhile, the second and third levels of the defense appeared to shine most. Considering the Niners’ defensive woes a year ago, this is a good sign.

Jalen Hurd Gets into Two Scuffles

Rookie wide receiver Jalen Hurd got his name into a number of camp reports on Sunday, but not exactly for the right reasons.

The 49ers’ Round 3 pick from this year’s NFL Draft first got into a brief scuffle with cornerback Dontae Johnson, and that was quickly broken up. Before the ink was dry on tweeted reports on that fight, Hurd then got into another bit of fisticuffs with defensive back Antone Exum.

The Athletic’s Matt Barrows pointed out “defensive backs taking exception to Hurd’s tough blocking downfield,” so make of that what you wish.

Hurd’s 6-foot-4 frame does give him a bit of advantage in this area, and one needs to recall he was a running back during his collegiate career, too. So it’s good to see the physicality, although maybe the edgy demeanor is something best left for the regular season, if that.

Either way, head coach Kyle Shanahan’s comments on the matter will be interesting to observe and take in.

San Francisco will resume practices on Monday, July 29. And the pads will be coming on that day.