It's the most wonderful time of the year...
Football's almost back, ladies and gentlemen, and with it comes the usual brands of optimism, pessimism, and outright delusion that mark every football fan's calendar. Everyone's a contender in late July and early August, and it's one of the best times to be a fan as you get to take a peek at what will form the nucleus of your team next year.
That's even more true in San Francisco for the 49ers.
Much like last year, expectations feel somewhat relaxed for this Niners team. it's generally accepted they're in a difficult division, but they're also in a division where the spotlight is more heavily on their two biggest rivals—one, the defending Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks, and two, the Los Angeles Rams, who have largely eschewed sensible team-building and gone all-in on 2026 and 2027. Or at least as long as Matthew Stafford's neck holds up.
As such, there's been precious little drama around the 49ers this offseason (save for Brandon Aiyuk's childishness on social media), and we can instead focus on the on-field questions surrounding the squad.
Let's take a look at the five biggest ones entering training camp and how they might impact the 49ers' upcoming season.
No. 1: What will Raheem Morris cook up on defense?
This question honestly holds the key to a few more that will be mentioned in this article. What Raheem Morris does in taking over from Robert Saleh will largely define the spots that certain players find themselves in for 2026, for sure. We'll come back to two major spots shortly.
More importantly, though, what can we expect to see from Morris as a whole? What fronts will he run? How will he generate pass rushes? Can he find a way to get more turnovers?
We're likely to start finding that out pretty quickly as training camp progresses, so it'll unlock more answers to more questions, such as how aggressive he might be in certain situations.
Morris has few sceptics in the fanbase, being something of a popular hire (certainly compared to Gus Bradley), but now comes his time to prove himself. It should be fun to watch, and while preseason will probably give us only a vanilla outline of what we're going to see, it's certainly something I'll be looking forward to.
No. 2: Can Romello Height change 49ers' pass rush?
Following on from the above, albeit without much data, its hard to shake out just how Morris fixes the anemic pass rush—20 sacks last year was abhorrent, and it can't continue. Nick Bosa will return, which should help, while Osa Odighizuwa's presence will fortify the middle as well.
However, a lot of pressure is being exerted on a third-round rookie.
Romello Height might come in as an immediate-impact player, I don't know, he's certainly got the speed and natural athleticism to make some noise as a rookie. But I'm struggling to see how a player taken in the third round can immediately become a standout on the defensive line. Adjusting physically to the NFL is often the biggest hurdle a rookie faces, and Height is undersized as it is.
My anxiety might subside if Height shows up well in one-on-one and other drills in training camp. One thing is for sure, though: The Niners need him to be more Aldon Smith than Tank Carradine.
No. 3: Who are the 49ers safeties?
"Surprise, surprise, John's banging on about safety again." You bet I am.
We're almost in August now, and once again, the 49ers have gone basically their entire offseason not finding an outright, unquestionable starter at free safety. So, here we are again. Yes, San Francisco added Ashtyn Davis, but let's call that what it is: another addition of an average player to a bevy of average ones at the position.
I suspect Morris will try and discover if he actually has a starting-calibre safety at his disposal, but I can't be sure what the answer will be. Malik Mustapha seems an obvious choice at one spot, but the other one is open to all comers, including Ji'Ayir Brown, Marques Sigle and the aforementioned Davis.
I will be watching camp closely to see who Morris wants to put on the field. And likely complaining bitterly about the 49ers' ignorance of the position as soon as the season starts.
No. 4: What's the makeup of the offensive line?
"Surprise, surprise, John's banging on about..." well, anyway.
At least San Francisco finally drafted some linemen. I've only been pleading to do that for most of my tenure on Niner Noise. What intrigues me now is how the offense lines up at that key spot (yes, John and Kyle: KEY SPOT) this season.
Trent Williams is a gimmie, as is Colton McKivitz. But who lines up at the three interior spots? There are a ton of options, including new additions like Carver Willis, Brett Toth, and Robert Jones, as well as expected development from the likes of Connor Colby, and possibly even Drake Nugent.
I've got no dogs in the fight, particularly, although I suspect Jake Brendel will once again find himself at center. I just hope the 49ers' blend in the trenches performs as well as it desperately needs to (especially in the running game) this season. Eventually, it might stop me talking about it.
Training camp will provide some of those answers early, as we see who shifts to the head of the line in the coaching staff's mind as the season draws closer. Hopefully, we'll also see some sparks from the younger players in the preseason games, too.
No. 5: How will things shake out at several deep positions?
OK, a slightly happier one to close. Who will stand out at the Niners' deepest spots?
I don't think it would be a huge jump to suggest the 49ers are deepest at linebacker and wide receiver. That's where most of their young talent either resides (in the case of receiver) or has had significant playing time (as in the case of linebacker), forcing some extremely tough roster decisions to be made over the course of this camp.
Starting at receiver, we know Mike Evans will be No. 1. That's not remotely questionable. After that, though, it gets interesting. Can Ricky Pearsall finally break out? Is Christian Kirk going to add some value at the slot? Who wins the battle between Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins for what is likely one roster spot?
And, perhaps more importantly, can De'Zhaun Stribling look like a pro from the off? With all the noise around his drafting, any remotely AJ Jenkins-like camp performance will have the vultures circling.
You get the point. There's a myriad of things to be worked out at receiver, but it should all be pretty exciting. Watching who sails up and down depth charts and perception as camp goes on should be interesting, as should watching who can spark on the field. A good start by Stribling would certainly quiet some louder noises.
Cross over to linebacker, and it should be the most entertaining position battle on the entire roster. There's a myriad of top players there, from the obvious like Fred Warner and a returning Dre Greenlaw, to the young guns who might be carving out roles for themselves like Tatum Bethune.
Add multi-talented rookie Jaden Dugger to the mix as well, and you've got all the potential in the world for some epic battles, and it's quite likely the Niners will leave at least one NFL-quality talent off their roster at season's start.
We should start getting some indication of who that will be at training camp.
Whatever your thoughts, though, isn't it just nice to have football back? This is going to be a big season ahead for the 49ers, and that starts in training camp. Welcome back to football!
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