The Good and Not So Good from Day 1 of 49ers Minicamp

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May 10, 2024; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers rookies take a rest during the 49ers rookie minicamp at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. Mandatory Credit: Robert Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports / Robert Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports

SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers just finished Day 1 of mandatory minicamp. Here's who stood out.

THE GOOD

1. DE Leonard Floyd. Recorded a sack on 3rd and 8 when lined up across from Colton McKivitz (more on him in a minute). Floyd beat him with ease and then casually celebrated the sack with his teammates and coaches on the sideline as if beating McKivitz is nothing to get too excited about, but a sack is a sack so why not strut? Floyd clearly is the best edge rusher the 49ers have ever had opposite Nick Bosa -- even better than Dee Ford, who always was hurt.

2. DC Nick Sorensen. Called some third-down blitzes and pressures that involved nickelbacks and safeties, which is something former defensive coordinator Steve Wilks rarely did last year. It seems like the 49ers' pass rush will be more exotic and sophisticated this year than last.

3. WR Ricky Pearsall. He hasn't beaten any of the 49ers starting cornerbacks yet, but he has destroyed their backups, including Samuel Womack (more on him in a minute). Those two were matched up frequently today and Womack couldn't cover him. Pearsall is extremely shifty if he gets a free release at the line of scrimmage. He doesn't necessarily play with the 4.4 speed that he displayed at the Combine, meaning he's not a threat to run by cornerbacks on fade routes. But he's quite good running all the short and intermediate routes and the deep comebacks and crossers. He even beat Renardo Green with a quick out route for a seven-yard gain on third and 5.

4. NCB Renardo Green. Gave up one first-down catch to Pearsall, but shut down Jauan Jennings (more on him in a minute), including once in the end zone. Green is extremely sticky in coverage and Jennings simply couldn't shake him.

5. LB Dee Winters. Intercepted Brandon Allen (more on him in a minute) while covering Eric Saubert man to man in the end zone. Winters ran the route for him, turned his head around, made the catch and then returned it for a long gain. He looks much better than he did last year as a rookie.

6. TE Eric Saubert. Caught a touchdown pass from Joshua Dobbs in the red zone while newly-signed Logan Thomas watched from the sideline because he doesn't know the offense yet. Saubert clearly is a better blocker than Thomas and might play more than him because of that.

7. RB Jordan Mason. Caught a touchdown pass from Brock Purdy in the red zone. Mason is an exceptional runner, but he also has developed into a terrific route runner who almost never drops the ball, as opposed to Elijah Mitchell (more on him in a minute).

THE NOT SO GOOD

1. WR Jauan Jennings. Beat Samuel Womack for a catch (who didn't?), but couldn't beat rookie Renardo Green. To be fair, Jennings usually struggles in camp. He's a gamer who thrives off the violence of football, which doesn't exist in minicamp.

2. RB Elijah Mitchell. Caught a pass in the flat while he was standing out of bounds. He ran a swing route too wide, stopped with both feet beyond the sideline where he eventually caught a check down from Brock Purdy. Players on the defense immediately laughed at Mitchell, who was oblivious to what he had done. He's by far the worst receiver of all the running backs.

3. RT Colton McKivitz. Couldn't block Leonard Floyd one on one during team drills. I'm guessing the 49ers won't match up those two against each other much this offseason because Floyd only will hurt McKivitz's confidence, or what's left of it.

4. QB Brandon Allen. Took all the second-team reps, and threw an interception directly to linebacker Dee Winters during a 7-on-7 drill in the red zone, which means there was no pass rush. Allen still forced a pass into tight coverage and got picked. He's also the least accurate and least decisive of the 49ers' three quarterbacks. Joshua Dobbs gets rid of the ball much quicker despite being on the team for just a couple months.

5. CB Samuel Womack. Started at right cornerback because Charvarius Ward, Deommodore Lenoir and Ambry Thomas all didn't practice. And Womack couldn't cover anyone. He is not an NFL cornerback. He's a soon-to-be free agent.

6. RB Isaac Guerendo. The only running back who slipped and fell face-first during a carry. Guerendo has done that more than once in front of the media this offseason. He doesn't seem to know where the holes will be.