The Good and the Not So Good from Day 1 of the Joint Practices with the Chargers

Analyzing the best and worst performances from Day 16 of San Francisco 49ers training camp.

COSTA MESA -- Here's who stood out on Day 16 of 49ers training camp, and Day 1 of the 49ers' joint practices with the Chargers. Keep in mind, I got to see the offense only today. The 49ers defense practiced on a field far away from where I was standing.

THE GOOD

1. Tight end George Kittle.

Beat All Pro strong safety Derwin James both times they faced each other during 1 on 1s. Won first with a dig route from right to left, then won with a whip route (fake to the inside, cut back to the outside). No safety in the league can cover Kittle consistently.

2. Tight end Ross Dwelley.

Beat Chargers backup safety Alohi Gilman with a gorgeous stick-nod route during 1 on 1s, then beat him later in the same drill with a whip route. Also caught a touchdown pass in the red zone during 11 on 11s. Dwelley is going to get a ton of playing time this season.

3. Tight end Jordan Matthews.

Won all of his reps during 1 on 1s with ease -- none of the Chargers backup safeties and linebackers could cover him. Matthews is a tough matchup as a tight end. He used to be slot receiver.

4. Tight end MyCole Pruitt.

Made a long catch during 1 on 1s, and had a clutch third down conversion during 11 on 11s. For a blocking specialist, Pruitt is a decent receiver who can get open.

5. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk.

Caught a long pass from Jimmy Garoppolo during 11 on 11s. Should have caught a second deep one, but Garoppolo overthrew him. Juszczyk is such a good receiver.

6. Wide receiver Jauan Jennings.

Caught a touchdown pass in the red zone from Trey Lance. Jennings has been consistently productive since he returned from the COVID-19 List. He's in terrific shape.

7. Wide receiver Travis Benjamin.

Caught a deep touchdown pass from Garoppolo early in practice. It's interesting that head coach Kyle Shanahan keeps calling passes for Benjamin and almost never calls passes for Nsimba Webster, who played well during the 49ers first preseason game. Seems like Shanahan wants Benjamin to make the roster.

8. Apprentice to the offensive line coach Joe Staley.

Drove up from his home in Encinitas to watch the 49ers offensive linemen practice and to get a feel for whether he might like to coach them in the future. Staley stood there with a serious expression on his face, but didn't say much. Maybe he was nervous.

THE NOT SO GOOD

1. Wide receiver Jalen Hurd.

Still hasn't practiced since he caught three passes in one day last week. It seems like it takes him a year to get healthy enough to practice one time, then he needs another year off. I doubt he'll ever play in a real game.

2. Tight end Charlie Woerner.

Caught a touchdown pass in a red zone drill when he was wide open, but also was the only tight end on the team who lost all of his reps during 1 on 1 drills. He's not a good enough route runner to get open against most linebackers and safeties.

3. The backup offensive line.

It's not an offensive line. It's just offensive. The left tackle is someone named Corbin Kaufusi, because Jaylon Moore is now the starting left tackle, because Trent Williams, Shon Coleman and Justin Skule all are injured. The left guard is Colton McKivitz. The center is Jake Brendel. The right guard is Senio Kelemete because Aaron Banks is injured. And the right tackle is Tom Compton. This group gave up 5 sacks in just 22 pass plays. Embarassing. The 49ers have to play Lance with the starters so they can get a fair evaluation of him. He's playing well with the backups because he's so gifted, but he's running for his life.

Check out my video of the 49ers tight ends and running backs going 1 on 1 against the Chargers safeties and linebackers.