49ers post-minicamp 53-man roster predictions with depth chart

49ers Wide Receivers

WR1 Brandon Aiyuk

WR2 Deebo Samuel

WR3 Jauan Jennings

WR4 Ray-Ray McLoud

WR5 Danny Gray OR Ronnie Bell

It might be semantics, but to my mind, Brandon Aiyuk has cemented himself as the best pure wide receiver on San Francisco's roster.

Yes, Deebo Samuel is spectacular in his own right, but he doesn't possess Aiyuk's route-running savvy or ability to get himself open, something Deebo gets away with at times because Kyle Shanahan is the master at getting his guys open using the scheme.

So that's why Aiyuk is listed here ahead of Samuel, but again, it doesn't really matter in the larger scheme of things.

It's the next few spots that might be a bigger issue.

Jauan Jennings slides back in as the third receiver, although there's a case to be made that he'll have more players breathing down his neck this year than he has at other times during his Niners tenure. Ray-Ray McLoud showed some ability outside of just being a return guy, and if he can show up and have a strong training camp, he may be able to unseat Jennings as WR3.

The last two guys are the most intriguing, however.

By most accounts, rookie wideout Ronnie Bell was impressive during rookie camp, OTAs, and minicamp. The 49ers took him in the seventh round of this year's draft out of Michigan, and if you watch him play, he looks like a Shanahan guy. Dare I say, Deebo-esque.

Bell also has experience in the return game, which may earn him a roster spot, particuarly if McLoud begins to make more noise on offense.

And then there's Danny Gray, who made basically no noise as a rookie and there's some concern that his skill set (namely: he's very fast in a straight line) might have made more sense for the arm of Trey Lance rather than Brock Purdy.

For now, Gray stays, but he will have to watch his back depending on how a couple of other positions shake out.

49ers Tight Ends

TE1 George Kittle

TE2 Charlie Woerner OR Cameron Latu

TE3 Brayden Willis

The start to the tight end group is easy: it begins and ends with George Kittle, who looked to be back to his All-Pro caliber with Purdy at the helm late last season.

Beyond that, the 49ers drafted with an eye toward improving the quality of the depth and to give themselves the potential for a two-headed tight end monster, yet another formation for Shanahan to play with.

Who that is remains to be seen, although, in spite of his being listed as TE2, it probably isn't Charlie Woerner from a pass-catching perspective. Cameron Latu, who the 49ers took in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, might be too much of a project to slide right into that major contributor role right away.

But Brayden Willis out of Oklahoma is a player to watch. He's got the athleticism to get the job done, he'll just need to work on his consistency as a pass-catcher. If he can do that maybe the 49ers found another late-round tight end gem to pair with the one they already have.