49ers roster 2024: UDFA Jaylen Mahoney has clear path to make 53-man squad

Jaylen Mahoney might be one of the best dark-horse candidates to make the 49ers' 53-man roster in year one.

The San Francisco 49ers entered the 2024 NFL Draft with only a handful of open spots available on their projected 53-man roster, meaning that not all of their eight draftees will ultimately survive pre-Week 1 roster cuts.

The prospects for making the regular-season squad are even grimmer for the crop of undrafted free agents.

One of those fringe hopefuls is defensive back Jaylen Mahoney, whom the Niners inked shortly after the draft's conclusion last April.

Mahoney, a five-year collegiate veteran from Vanderbilt, is certainly on the more distant side of the roster bubble as he enters his first training camp at the pro level. Yet the 5-foot-11 rookie has plenty of traits that could boost his potential value, making him a dark horse for a spot on the depth chart.

Merely looking at his stats from the last five years, it'd not hard to deduce that Mahoney is regularly involved with playmaking duties. Whether it's by being close to the ball and recording plenty of tackles, or getting behind the line of scrimmage for sacks and tackles for a loss, or by registering a solid amount of interceptions and passes broken up, Mahoney certainly doesn't shy away from action.

A somewhat lackluster 2023 campaign likely resulted in not getting the official draft-day call, and his physical attributes are merely average at best.

That said, it's possible Mahoney winds up stealing a roster spot if his best traits are allowed to come to the surface.

Can Jaylen Mahoney actually make 49ers' 53-man roster in Year 1?

The road to the 53-man roster is always difficult for UDFAs. And Mahoney would only cost San Francisco $35,000 in dead money, if cut.

Additionally, the 49ers already appear set at safety and nickel cornerback this season. Talanoa Hufanga and Ji'Ayir Brown are the likely one-two tandem at safety, while George Odum and drafted rookie Malik Mustapha are poised to be their backups.

At nickel, Deommodore Lenoir, Chase Lucas, Rock Ya-Sin and fellow rookie Renardo Green are in the mix.

Fortunately for Mahoney, he played all over Vandy's secondary, and that flexibility is something that works in his favor, as The Draft Network's Justin Melo pointed out:

"The 49ers appreciate defensive backs who play with toughness, versatility, and strength. Mahoney, who played every position in the defensive backfield for Vanderbilt, possesses all three traits in spades. His ability to move around the formation will endear itself to new defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen throughout training camp and the preseason."

Should Mahoney make the most out of his opportunities, it might be tough to risk waiving him with the hope of a practice squad stash.

Additionally, Hufanga is coming off a torn ACL suffered in the latter half of 2023. While he's eyeing a Week 1 return to the field, any setback could potentially open up the door further for Mahoney to make an immediate impact.

Currently, Mahoney's biggest competition for a back-of-the-roster spot on the depth chart is an aging veteran, Erik Harris, and a seldom-seen third-year pro in Tayler Hawkins.

Simply put, Mahoney should like his chances there.

Again, though, Mahoney is an undrafted rookie who won't get a ton of looks in training camp and will likely grace the playing field late in preseason games only.

If he stands out enough, though, Mahoney could end up being one of those quality storylines worth monitoring in advance of Week 1.

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