The Good and Not So Good from Day 17 of 49ers Training Camp

Keep in mind, they were supposed to fly to Irvine to practice against the Saints this week, but were too injured.

Jul 26, 2024; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) throws a pass during Day 4 of training camp at SAP Performance Facility. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports / D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

SANTA CLARA -- Here's who stood out on Day 17 of 49ers training camp. Keep in mind, they were supposed to fly to Irvine to practice against the Saints this week, but were too injured.

THE GOOD

1. CB Deommodore Lenoir

Stripped the ball out of Deebo Samuel's hands and intercepted Brock Purdy (more on him in a minute). Lenoir was covering Samuel who was open after running a corner route, but Purdy's pass was underthrown. Lenoir was in man-to-man coverage, he turned his head to find the ball and easily picked it off. He now has intercepted Purdy five times in 17 practices. Lenoir is the MVP of 49ers training camp.

2. WR Brandon Aiyuk

He showed up to practice for the third day in a row. This time, he wore a red shit, a red baseball cap and did wind sprints with a resistance band around his waist. You'd think he was really injured or something. Maybe he has to milk his supposed injury to not get fined. Kyle Shanahan says Aiyuk has a sore back. Don't we all?

3. WR Jacob Cowing

Made a 20-yard catch over the middle on a high pass thrown by Joshua Dobbs. The pass wasn't great, but the catch was. A few plays later, Cowing beat Darrell Luter Jr. with a quick slant route. Cowing has been healthy all week and, as a result, has steadily improved. As opposed to Ricky Pearsall, who's still injured.

4. LB Curtis Robinson

Broke up a Brandon Allen pass that was intended for Cam Latu over the middle. Then dropped a potential interception while covering George Kittle on a pass thrown by Purdy. Robinson has had a terrific camp. The game seems to have slowed down for him.

5. LB Tatum Bethune

Nearly intercepted a pass thrown by Tanner Mordecai (more on him in a minute). Bethune is playing with a ton of confidence for a rookie seventh-round pick.

6. TE Eric Saubert

Destroyed rookie safety Malik Mustapha with a simple out route during 1-on-1 drills. Saubert isn't fast, but he's clearly a good route runner and a good blocker.

THE NOT SO GOOD

1. QB Brock Purdy

He caught a touchdown pass from Deebo Samuel while running a trick play the 49ers call "Purd Dawg," but he completed just 8 of 19 passes with one interception. He also threw two passes that nearly were picked off. The interception was an underthrown pass intended for Samuel when Purdy had time and space in the pocket to throw. The first dropped pick was a pass Purdy forced downfield to Samuel who was double-covered. The second dropped pick was an ill-advised throw off his back foot in the face of pressure. The pass was intended for Kittle but was extremely underthrown and the only person who got his hands on it was linebacker Curtis Robinson. This terrible showing comes a day after Purdy was nearly perfect. It would be nice to see him string together two good practices in a row before the 49ers give him $60 million per season. Because we all know he can play well when he's cheap and the 49ers set him up for success with a great opening script and a great supporting cast. But if he's truly elite, he'll play well consistently even when he isn't set up for success.

2. QB Brandon Allen

He's terrible. Today, he rolled to his right and sailed a five-yard pass over Ronnie Bell's head. Head coach Kyle Shanahan immediately yelled at Allen, turned away and shook his head in disgust. I felt the same way. What a horrible throw.

3. QB Joshua Dobbs

He's awful. That's why the 49ers gave him only five passes for the entire practice. At least Shanahan didn't yell at him. I almost did.

4. QB Tanner Mordecai

He's atrocious. Today, he threw a pass that nearly got intercepted just a day after throwing two passes that did get intercepted. Besides Purdy, the 49ers have one of the worst quarterback rooms in the NFL.

5. WR Ricky Pearsall

Still injured. In danger of missing all but a few days of training camp. Probably won't catch more than 15 passes this season.

6. LG Aaron Banks

Broke his pinky finger yesterday and had surgery to fix it. The 49ers hope he's ready for Week 1. Which means the entire left side of their offensive line could be on the shelf for the season opener if the 49ers don't work things out with Trent Williams soon. And that's the good side of the offensive line.