49ers roster: 5 rookies who are under the most pressure in training camp

The 49ers may not expect any of their 2022 NFL Draft and rookie class to start this season, but these five players will still see plenty of training camp pressure regardless.

When head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch took over the San Francisco 49ers in 2017, they needed essentially every member of that year’s NFL Draft class to make an impact in light of turning over nearly 70 percent of the team’s roster from the season prior.

Of course, those plans didn’t pan out quite as they expected. But that’s yesteryear.

In the 2022 draft, Shanahan and Lynch didn’t have to worry so much about turning over large swarms of the roster. No, the bulk of the Niners’ pickups were intended to beef up the depth chart and potentially provide long-term starting options down the road, perhaps in 2023 or so.

On the surface, this might mean each one of San Francisco’s rookies, both those selected in the draft and those signed thereafter, won’t quite be under the same pressure to deliver in training camp as Lynch and Shanahan’s 2017 class was.

Actually, it might be quite the opposite. The 49ers have a stacked roster, and it’ll be hard to justify taking up one of only a precious few spots available on the 53-man group.

Some rookies have more pressure on them for training camp than others, through, so let’s identify the five first-year pros who’ll be under the most when the Niners get back onto the field later this summer.

49ers rookie No. 5: Cornerback Samuel Womack

The landing spot for San Francisco’s fifth-round pick from the draft, former Toledo cornerback Samuel Womack, is pretty widespread.

It could be anywhere from a starting nickel corner to off the roster altogether.

Granted, the last suggestion seems unlikely, especially as Womack impressed in the padless and tackle-less phase of offseason workouts, otherwise known as organized team activities and mandatory minicamp, which is notable because defensive backs can physically jam wide receivers at the line of scrimmage just yet.

Considering Womack looked good enough here, that bodes well for his immediate future.

Yet the 49ers didn’t line up too many of their first- and second-string wide receivers during this phase of the offseason, but that’ll change in camp. As such, Womack will be facing off against regular starting-level competition for the first time in his pro career.

The 5-foot-10, 187-pound defender looks poised to take over starting duties for now-Denver Broncos nickel K’Waun Williams, but Womack will have to overcome the awfully common tendency of young defensive backs struggling early in their respective careers.

Maybe Womack bucks that trend in training camp. He’ll have to if he wants to start.