These 49ers youngsters could steal roster spots from established veterans
Where might youth win out? Let's find out.
By John Porter
Evan Anderson over Kevin Givens/Kalia Davis
The final undrafted rookie to examine is defensive lineman Evan Anderson, to whom the 49ers gave a surprisingly large $280,000 guarantee in order to convince him to sign following the draft.
While Anderson joins a very busy and deep defensive tackle room, buttressed by the offseason additions of Jordan Elliott and Maliek Collins, it is still a unit very much in flux following the departure of longtime 49er Arik Armstead in the early days of the offseason.
Pretty much everyone is playing for playing time here, and anyone who can impress likely emerges in the defensive tackle rotation behind the two offseason additions.
Anderson's first job will be to impress against the two closest players to him in terms of skill set, namely Kevin Givens and Kalia Davis. Givens has held a spot on the roster for the last two years, starting 12 games. He hasn't particularly stood out, however, and despite gaining more playing time. has struggled to replicate the run-stopping power of nose tackle DJ Jones, who left the team in 2022 to sign with the Denver Broncos.
The fact that rumors swirled of Jones returning to the San Francisco if cut by the Broncos in the early days of free agency seems to best indicate that.
In Davis' case, he's just simply failed to get on the field. He missed his entire rookie season, and only appeared in three games last season. While the 49ers may still be interested in his potential, it's not hard to see how he could get caught in a roster shuffle at cut-down time.
Anderson also won't be hurt by the fact that defensive line coach Kris Kocurek seems to enjoy coaching him, comparing him recently, in fact, to the now-absent Jones. Since Kocurek has form for turning project players into productive NFL players, such as Arden Key and Charles Omenihu, the fact he's willing to publicly speak so highly of a player who at first glance would seem to be on the fringes of the roster, should certainly give the two veterans pause for thought.