Niner Noise
FanSided

Top 10 takeaways from 49ers’ first weekend of training camp

By Jeremy Wohlfart

SANTA CLARA, CA - MAY 11: LaMichael James #23 of the San Francisco 49ers carries the ball running away from Michael Wilhoite #57 during Rookie Minincamp at the San Francisco 49ers practice facility on May 11, 2012 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - MAY 11: LaMichael James #23 of the San Francisco 49ers carries the ball running away from Michael Wilhoite #57 during Rookie Minincamp at the San Francisco 49ers practice facility on May 11, 2012 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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SANTA CLARA, CA – SEPTEMBER 10: Solomon Thomas #94 of the San Francisco 49ers stands on the field before their game against the Carolina Panthers at Levi’s Stadium on September 10, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA – SEPTEMBER 10: Solomon Thomas #94 of the San Francisco 49ers stands on the field before their game against the Carolina Panthers at Levi’s Stadium on September 10, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

San Francisco 49ers training camp is here and the first weekend of non-padded practices is in the books. Niner Noise looks at the first few days of camp and the 10 early takeaways from Saturday and Sunday.

Training camp is underway for the San Francisco 49ers, and every fan is finally relieved the new season is here and football can finally begin again.

While it’s important not to treat every success and failure with more weight than they deserve, it’s also important to not understate what early momentum can do. Sure, they were padless practices. But training camp is training camp.

Momentum is everything, however. Some players have made impressive starts to camp while some haven’t quite hit the ground running.

Some rookies have impressed, some camp bodies have made flying starts and the training camp battles have well and truly begun.

So the first weekend is done, and here are the first 10 takeaways from those first few practices.

No. 10: Solomon Thomas has impressed early

Defensive end Solomon Thomas has been much maligned since being the first pick of the 49ers under the John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan regime.

In some ways, this isn’t his fault. The 49ers tried to play Thomas as a true EDGE rather than an interior pass-rusher, and he endured unimaginable tragedy with the suicide of his sister last season.

This season with the EDGE positions well and truly upgraded, Thomas can finally be more of the player he was at Stanford that led him to be the No. 3 overall selection.

Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee described how Thomas came out of the gates strong:

"So it wasn’t entirely surprising to see the defensive line come out of the gates quickly when San Francisco held its first pad-less training camp practice Saturday. The first few moments of team drills were highlight by a fired-up Solomon Thomas beating his blocker to stuff a Matt Breida run behind the line of scrimmage. New defensive line coach Kris Kocurek heaped praise on Thomas in the form of a signature scream that wasn’t for the faint of heart."

Thomas has a long way to go to live up to the once lofty expectations the team and fans have for him, but this season has been a promising start.