On one hand, the San Francisco 49ers were intrigued enough by defensive end Andrew Farmer II to sign him to their practice squad in November of last season, suggesting he had enough to offer as part of the scout team, at the very least.
On the other, the Niners aren't exactly looking at the 26 year old out of Lane College as a viable part of their pass-rush plans entering 2027.
Farmer, who went undrafted in 2023 and subsequently signed with the Los Angeles Chargers that year, brought a promising-yet-unheralded collegiate career to the table with 140 tackles and 19.5 sacks over four seasons before going pro.
Yet with a mere eight games played and awfully few snaps over that span, all stemming from his rookie year with the Bolts, it's hard to bank on the pass-rusher making much of a dent at the pro level at this point.
But San Francisco can at least hope the 6-foot-3 and 250-pound Farmer is a late bloomer.
Andrew Farmer has an exceptionally long way to go to make 49ers' 53-man roster
The 49ers retained Farmer's services into the offseason by signing him to a reserve/futures contract last January, and he could still wind up playing an important role in helping develop the back end of the Niners depth chart ahead of the regular season.
It's just not anywhere likely he'll be on it, though.
From a Bolts from the Blue scouting report on him back in 2023, Farmer's explosive first step was certainly the one thing that earned him an NFL job early on, and he'd be wise to continue capitalizing on that if he hopes to have any shot of hanging around in San Francisco.
That said, the same scouting report indicated Farmer's pass-rush arsenal was extremely limited, and the lack of real competition against Lane College was telling once he went up against more talented blockers.
The back end of the 49ers pass rush remains fluid, even after retaining Sam Okuayinonu and bringing aboard rookie Romello Height via the draft last April. It's possible Farmer winds up turning a major corner in his first full offseason with the Niners.
But, considering it's year four, the chances of him even turning into a back-end-of-the-depth-chart contributor are about as remote as possible.
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