49ers roster: These 5 players impressed most during mandatory minicamp

The 49ers wrapped up two days of mandatory minicamp before canceling Day 3, and these five players certainly stood out among the participants.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has had a bit of a trend when it comes to abbreviating offseason workouts so far during the 2022 offseason.

Shanahan already cut short the final third of organized team activities, electing to bump up mandatory minicamp to essentially take the final week of OTAs. And then, following two days of minicamp, Shanahan canceled the third and final day.

Perhaps Shanahan has seen what he needs to see or doesn’t want to push his players too hard with training camp scheduled to kick off next month. Maybe a mixture of both. It’s anyone’s guess.

Regardless, the two-day mandatory practice sessions revealed some clear-cut standouts among the 90-man offseason roster, and it’s worth pointing out the notable performances as we begin to carve away the speculative 53-man roster heading towards the regular season.

Here are five Niners players who made the most out of the two-day session.

No. 5: 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings

San Francisco’s biggest wide receiver news at mandatory minicamp was the return of All-Pro Deebo Samuel. And while Samuel didn’t partake in on-field drills and practices amid his contract-extension talks, it was nevertheless good to see him in attendance.

The middle and back end of the receiver depth chart is crowded, though, and there should be no shortage of competition once training camp rolls around.

One player who did a good deal towards solidifying a role in 2022 is third-year pro Jauan Jennings, who emerged as quite the go-to target for quarterback Trey Lance on the first day before being given the second day off.

Check out what the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch had to say about Jennings’ efforts:

"On the third snap of the San Francisco 49ers’ 12-play red-zone period during Tuesday’s practice, wide receiver Jauan Jennings beat slot cornerback Darqueze Dennard and caught a fade from quarterback Trey Lance in the left corner of the end zone. On the next snap: Jennings beat Dennard again, this time over the middle, for another touchdown pass delivered by Lance. Three snaps later: Jennings, working on the right side, shook free from cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, snagged a pass from quarterback Nate Sudfeld and raised his right arm triumphantly to celebrate another score. It was part of a strong performance from Jennings, who had a practice-best five receptions, catching every pass on which he was targeted, and earned praise afterward that didn’t smack of standard offseason puffery."

Jennings, who made such an impressive impact his second year in the NFL last season, seems poised to retain a WR3 role behind Samuel and fellow wideout Brandon Aiyuk, and practices like these will ensure Shanahan relies heavily on Jennings in key situations.