The Good and Not So Good from Day 9 of 49ers Training Camp

Analyzing the best and worst performances from Day 9 of San Francisco 49ers training camp.

Here's who stood out on Day 9 of training camp. Keep in mind, the 49ers practiced in Levi's Stadium in front of more than 20,000 fans.

THE GOOD

1. Head coach Kyle Shanahan.

Managed to make Jimmy Garoppolo look good in front of 20,000 fans. Called lots of short passes, and benched Dee Ford for the first time in a few days. Which means Garoppolo had all day to throw. And when Jason Verrett broke up a few of his passes, Shanahan benched him, too. This is exactly how you artificially boost a quarterback's trade value just before the season starts. Beautiful execution.

2. Cornerback Jason Verrett.

Broke up three of Garoppolo's passes during team drills. Verrett is the best cornerback I have ever covered. He's phenomenal.

3. Free safety Jimmie Ward.

Read Jimmy Garoppolo's eyes and almost intercepted his long throw up the seam to Kittle. Ward hasn't given up any long throws to Garoppolo through nine days of camp. Garoppolo's longest completion has traveled just 20 yards past the line of scrimmage.

4. Running back Raheem Mostert.

Took a toss to the right and exploded around the end for 20 yards before he got touched. Still the best running back on the team.

5. Linebacker Fred Warner.

Stopped rookie running back Trey Sermon for no gain twice.

6. Running back Trey Sermon.

Had a 20-yard gain while playing with the first-string offense. Sermon ran to his right and cut back to his left. He's quick.

7. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk.

Beat Warner for a deep catch during 1 on 1s. Juszczyk is one of the most difficult players on the 49ers to cover. It's criminal how infrequently they throw him the ball.

8. Defensive tackle Kentavius Street.

Returned to practice after getting poked in the eye by Laken Tomlinson. Street crumpled instantly and stayed down for at least three minutes. Good to see he's OK.

9. Wide receiver Kevin White.

Caught a 10-yard pass over the middle from Garoppolo, then caught a 25-yard pass over the middle from Nate Sudfeld. White probably won't make the team, but should.

10. Linebacker Marcell Harris.

Intercepted a pass that tipped off running back Elijah Mitchell's hands. Harris clearly is a better linebacker than a safety.

11. Quarterback Josh Rosen.

Completed all of his pass attempts for the first time in camp. Granted, he threw only four passes. Still, he looked sharp and dialed in for the first time. His best throw was a 10-yard completion to Trent Sherfield running an out route to the right. Be still my heart.

THE NOT SO GOOD

1. Center Alex Mack.

Lost all five of his reps during 1-on-1 pass blocking drills. Darrion Daniels beat him twice and put him on his knee once. Kevin Givens beat Mack with a spin move and a bull rush. And Maurice Hurst beat Mack with a counter to the outside. Mack looks old.

2. Guard Aaron Banks.

Split his reps with Darrion Daniels during 1 on 1s, then gave up two tackles for loss to Hurst during 11 on 11s. Seems nowhere near ready to start.

3. Defensive end Nick Bosa.

Still hasn't participated in 1 on 1s or 11 on 11s, and I doubt he ever will during this camp. I wonder if it's the 49ers who are being extra cautious with Bosa, or if it's Bosa's camp who is being extra cautious. The 49ers haven't been nearly as protective of Dee Ford, who has spine problems. I'm just saying.

4. Defensive end Arik Armstead.

Missed his second consecutive practice with a groin injury. Certainly something to monitor.

5. Defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw.

Missed practice entirely after participating in 11 on 11s just yesterday. Can this guy ever practice two days in a row? He's starting to look like a bust.

6. Defensive end Samson Ebukam.

Missed his third practice with leg soreness. Seems clear he has something more severe that the 49ers haven't told us about. He doesn't even show up to go through drills.

7. Guard Tom Compton.

Gave up multiple sacks. Still the worst player on the team. 


Published
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.