The 2 most intriguing position battles to watch for 49ers in 2024

The San Francisco 49ers have most of their starters set going into next season.

Yet, there are still several positions that figure to see a good battle for playing time throughout OTAs, training camp, and the preseason.

2 most intriguing position battles to watch for 49ers

These position battles are not necessarily over who will be the top starter, but in some cases who will be the No. 3 man on the depth chart. Some of these battles figure to be fairly fierce given the fact that the Niners were proactive in free agency and the draft in acquiring players.

Let's take a look at the two most intriguing position battles to watch.

1. Wide receiver

The 49ers have a whole lot of wide receivers on their team right now. Let's assume that Brandon Aiyuk gets his contract sorted out and will be on the field come Week 1. Deebo Samuel and Aiyuk will be the top two receivers on the team without question.

It gets more interesting when one looks at the following spots on the depth chart. Jauan Jennings should be third on the depth chart, given his stellar play the last few years. He is not afraid to make a tough physical catch on third down, nor is he afraid to block 20 yards downfield for his teammates.

Ricky Pearsall may have been the team's first-round draft pick, but he will have to earn his playing time in practice and in preseason games. The same can be said for rookie Jacob Cowing.

There will also be a battle to simply make the team. It seems unlikely that out of Trent Taylor, Danny Gray, Chris Conley, and Terique Owens that every one of them will make the team. Some may be put on the practice squad while others may be cut.

It will be interesting to watch.

2. Cornerback

Another intriguing position battle to watch is at cornerback. Again, the top two on the depth chart are fairly clear with Charvarius Ward and Deomodore Lenoir. After that it gets a little fuzzier.

The Niners added several cornerbacks in free agency who are capable of playing on the outside like Rock Ya-Sin and Issac Yiadom. They also drafted Renardo Green whose experience is at the outside cornerback spot.

This puts pressure on players like Ambry Thomas, Samuel Womack, and Darrell Luter who may be hard pressed to get playing time.

One or two of them may even be cut depending on how things shake out on the field.

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