The 49ers have received some notable efforts from their first-year players in training camp, and Niner Noise ranks out the five best so far.
It’s understandable why some San Francisco 49ers rookies would have a tougher time in training camp in 2020 than in other years. The global COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered teams’ offseason programs, eliminating rookie minicamps, organized team activities and other means for first-year players to better acclimate themselves to life at the NFL level.
The Niners haven’t been immune to this. A number of rookies, particularly those needing some additional development, have appeared raw and unrefined during the initial phases of on-field workouts. That makes sense. But with this year’s practice squad increasing to 16 players, the chances of retaining and further developing a number of young, promising players certainly increases.
That said, a number of players have stood out during the opening days of training camp. Head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad doesn’t have a lot of roster openings, so the vast majority of rookies are going to need to outperform a number of returning veterans who may already have a leg up on the competition. Even the majority of depth spots have been mostly determined, too, leaving precious few spots for first-year players to make their mark.
Considering there also won’t be a preseason, these efforts are going to be vital in helping Shanahan determine the best possible way to comprise the 53-man regular-season roster, rookies or otherwise.
Some are to be expected, while other rookies’ performances have seemingly come out of nowhere. And while each player deserves to be evaluated, these five have certainly shown the most promise early with a sizable impact.