5 Things to Watch in the 49ers' Preseason Finale Against the  Texans

Certain players are under the microscope in this meaningless exhibition.
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The 49ers play their preseason finale today at 5:15 in Houston against the Texans. Here are the top five things to watch in this game in ascending order of importance:

5. The No. 3 wide receiver competition

Coming into the offseason, Jauan Jennings seemed like a lock to be the 49ers' No. 3 receiver, considering that was his role down the stretch last season and during the playoffs. But then the 49ers signed Ray-Ray McCloud this offseason. At the time, most people assumed McCloud would be nothing more than a returner on special teams. But in training camp, he got lots of targets with the first-string offense and clearly outperformed Jennings, who stopped getting targets with the starters after this first week because he kept dropping the ball. Was McCloud a training camp mirage, or will he take Jennings' role in the offense?

4. The running back competition

It's wide open. The starter, Elijah Mitchell, has missed most of the offseason due to various injuries and currently is out with a hamstring pull. Someone could surpass him on the depth chart with a strong showing in this game. Jeff Wilson Jr. most likely will start at running back against the Texans, because he's a vet, and he runs extremely hard. Trey Sermon, Ty Davis-Price and JaMycal Hasty also will play with the starters at times. It will be interesting to see if the 49ers play undrafted rookie free agent Jordan Mason with the starters, because he has had the best offseason of all the 49ers running backs.

3. The right tackle competition

Mike McGlinchey spent OTAs and minicamp recovering from surgery, then he injured his knee during the first preseason game, and it's uncertain whether he will play Week 1. If he can't go, who should be the next man up? Colton McKivitz? Justin Skule? Jaylon Moore? Jordan Mills? Is there a good replacement? The 49ers must evaluate all four of these tackles closely tonight.

2. The left guard competition

Look for Aaron Banks to split reps with undrafted rookie free agent Jason Poe for the first time in preseason. This is because Banks struggled in camp and Poe shined. If Poe shines tonight, look for him to start Week 1 against the Chicago Bears. He has a chance to earn a starting job tonight. Let's see if Banks competes.

1. Trey Lance's throwing mechanics

He knows the offense. He knows where to go with the ball. He's a smart guy and a great athlete. But his throwing mechanics are a work in progress. Sometimes, they're on point, and he's extremely accurate. Other times, they're off, which causes his passes to sail high. In his first preseason game, Lance was on point, but he threw only five passes. Tonight, he should play the entire first half and throw 10 to 15 passes. Will he maintain his proper mechanics, or will he revert to old habits? Will he have stretches every game when he misses targets wildly, or does that happen only in practice? We'll find out.


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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.