5 biggest surprises from 49ers initial 2019 53-man roster

No. 4: DL Kentavius Street over Damontre Moore

The 49ers selected former NC State defensive lineman Kentavius Street with a fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He tore his ACL during a pre-draft workout for the New York Giants, but the 49ers took him anyway, knowing a redshirt season was in Street’s future.

Given that level of investment in the player, it makes sense as to why the 49ers would want to keep him around, in spite a preseason where he looked to be a bit slow and overmatched as a pass-rusher.

However, when Kyle Shanahan was asked about Street’s health prior to the final preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers, the 49ers head coach noted that the defensive lineman was “definitely most likely” headed for the IR.

Because the 49ers chose to keep Street on the 53-man roster, that suggests they want to put him on the short-term IR, rather than put him on the list prior to roster cuts, which would mean he’d be out for the season. Street’s presence on the roster, then, came at the expense of other players who might have been able to contribute right away.

The most notable of these was another former AAF player, defensive lineman Damontre Moore, who played well throughout the preseason and seemed to have done enough for the 49ers to want to keep him around.

Moore was one of the top pass-rushers in the preseason, according to Pro Football Focus, a skill which would allow the 49ers to provide depth across the defensive line.

That may be something Street can do eventually. But for now, Moore won’t be a 49er in 2019.

It may still be possible for Moore to return. But by keeping Street on the roster, the 49ers subject Moore to waivers, where his high level of play in the preseason might have attracted attention from other teams, meaning having Street for what could be half a season was more valuable than having Moore for its entirety.

Essentially we’re talking about what amounts to one of the final spots on a fairly loaded defensive line, but this choice feels like the team hasn’t done all it can to make the most of the 2019 season.