The 49ers capped three-plus weeks of organized team activities with a pair of mini-camp sessions earlier this week. They will have 41 days off before reconvening for the start of training camp, tentatively set to begin on Thursday, July 26th.
These OTAs sessions are important in establishing routine, rhythm, rapport, and conditioning, but it’s important to note that pads are not involved, frequently devolving into non-contract drills. Training camp will closer resemble real football for that reason.
These are the five biggest takeaways from OTAs.
The chemistry on this team is growing
This seems cliche. Of course, the team gets along well when its record is 0-0, position battles haven’t fully heated up, and fringe players aren’t constantly worried about being cut. It’s summer in California — what’s not to love?
Something just feels different about this team, the way they go about their business, the way they encourage one another, and most importantly, how much they care.
Prior to OTAs, several players worked out together away from the facilities. Every single player reported to OTAs on time. Richard Sherman, Jaquiski Tartt, and Adrian Colbert all showed support for Reuben Foster during his domestic violence case by showing up to his court hearings. In each of the final two mini-camp sessions, Jimmy Garoppolo pulled together various offensive players to put in extra work and iron out the wrinkles from a rough practice.
“What I like is we have guys that it bothers,” Kyle Shanahan said on Wednesday. “You don’t have to sit out there and ‘MF’ them and stuff. It bothers them, just like it bothers (the coaches).”
It’s clear these guys enjoy their time together. The cornerback room has gone to dinners, go-karting, bowling, and Warriors playoff games together. Joe Staley and Mike McGlinchey, the team’s most well-known bromance, were recently spotted singing karaoke together. Jerick McKinnon and Matt Breida continue to cultivate a friendship that started five years ago at Georgia Southern.
Ultimately, this team will be remembered for how they perform, but the growing camaraderie should not be discounted or trivialized.
“It’s new to me seeing teammates like that hanging out all the time off the field,” said Weston Richburg, a five-year NFL veteran who signed with the 49ers this offseason. “It’s been cool. It’s been a really close atmosphere, which is easy for a new guy like me to come in and feel like I am part of the group.”
Last year, Breida joined the 49ers as a rookie. He came away with the same impressions as Richburg.
“Everybody on the team is cool,” Breida said. “When I got here in the NFL, a lot of veterans told me teams aren’t normally like that. Guys are usually about the money or themselves. This team right here, you could be like a running back and be best friends with a defensive lineman.”
Jimmy G, Sherman developing as leaders
It’s easier for leaders to emerge when everyone gets along. Two newcomers in their first offseason with the 49ers have taken on leadership roles via opposite sides of the field: Garoppolo and Sherman.
Staley, the longest tenured 49ers player, is the de facto locker room presence. On a young, relatively inexperienced team, there was not much additional veteran leadership before the 49ers signed Garoppolo last January and Sherman in March.
Last year, shortly after Garoppolo was traded from New England to San Francisco, he was thrust into a starting role with limited knowledge of the scheme, his coaches, and teammates. He said he did not know some of his teammates’ names.
Now, he is organizing offseason workouts, staying after practices, accepting blame for false start penalties in practice, and widely regarded as the consummate teammate.
“It was a whirlwind last year, but now that things have slowed down,” Garoppolo said on Wednesday. “I feel more comfortable in the environment and getting more and more used to everything.”
Garoppolo seems to be a quiet leader. Sherman is more vocal and hands-on.
The four-time first-team All-Pro did not practice prior to the final two mini-camp sessions, but he was present at every OTAs session. He followed around the cornerback group to each drill with a keen eye. Whenever he saw a coaching point, he stepped in. Whenever he saw a positive play, he encouraged. He consistently pulled the young 49ers cornerbacks aside, who listened to Sherman with closed lips and nodding heads.
“Gosh, I love that guy,” said defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. “He’s a tremendous leader. He’s got tremendous knowledge of football and he’s got all these little player tricks that he can share with these guys. We’ve got such a young group that when he does speak, they do listen.”
About half of the defensive starters enter their first year in that role. This is a young unit that has benefited from a commanding voice and ultimate leader in Sherman. Earlier this offseason, Colbert penned the nickname, ‘Uncle Sherm,’ which has stuck throughout OTAs. He has taken the lead on organizing outings away from the field. His focused, everyday approach has resonated with the 49ers secondary.
“Just being a pro,” said Jaquiski Tartt on what he has learned from Sherman. “Just trying to master the game, watching film, paying attention to detail. For the scheme we run, he is all about detail.”
Playmakers all over the field
Onto the on-field takeaways.
Throughout free agency, Shanahan and general manager John Lynch chose not to pursue many of the available high-profile receivers including Jarvis Landry and Sammy Watkins. They felt confident in Shanahan’s ability to maximize the current group, while later adding Dante Pettis, a versatile receiver and dangerous return man, in the second round of the draft.
Each of the projected three starting receivers — Marquise Goodwin, Pierre Garcon, and Trent Taylor — were absent during OTAs for varying lengths of time, though none of their injuries are considered to be serious. Their absences gave the backup receivers added opportunity.
Pettis is far from a finished product, as no one would expect in his first OTAs. Contact seems to bother him at times. But he showed flashes, at times dominating 11-on-11 drills with his fluid athleticism and quickness. He has taken reps at all three receiver spots and fielded punts.
One player who had a tremendous OTAs was Kendrick Bourne, a deceptively fast, twitchy receiver with sticky hands.
“I don’t know how many drops he has had all of OTAs,” Garoppolo said. “I don’t want to jinx him. He has done a great job.”
Aldrick Robinson was the best receiver on the field during Wednesday’s mini-camp session. Aaron Burbridge was consistent throughout the past three-plus weeks and has emerged as one of the team’s top special-teamers.
On paper, this wide receivers corps won’t blow anyone away. But there is lots of speed in this group, especially when you add McKinnon and Breida to the mix, that will disperse its production from top to bottom.
Garoppolo was up and down, but don’t pay too much attention to it
All eyes will be on Garoppolo, the $137.5 million man, this season. He now has the luxury of a full offseason’s time frame to learn the system’s intricacies and build rapport with his teammates.
So far, mostly good. Garoppolo was surgical during 11-on-11 drills throughout the majority of the OTAs sessions made available to the media. He was especially effective on short and intermediate throws, where he used sharp judgment, an ultra-quick release, and superb accuracy to move the ball downfield.
If Garoppolo showed one consistent flaw, it was on deep throws. He struggled to connect on the big plays throughout the past three-plus weeks. This is consistent with last season, when he was one of the worst deep passers in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.
Garoppolo identified the red zone as a point of emphasis on Wednesday. There were times, especially this week, in which the offense failed to punch the ball into the end zone on red zone drills. In his first three starts with the 49ers last season, they converted only 3-13 red zone attempts into touchdowns. They finished strong, punching in eight touchdowns in their final 11 red-zone trips, during the final two games.
Overall, Garoppolo produced a solid OTAs. Even when he has struggled, remember that he was long considered a poor practice player in New England, but for whatever reason, performed better in game situations. He will be just fine.
And his growing leadership has been one of the positive breakthroughs of the offseason.
DeForest Buckner
All signs point to Buckner erupting in 2018. Buckner was one of the few 49ers players training at the Santa Clara facilities in February, only a couple months removed from the 2017 season’s conclusion, and a couple months away from the start of OTAs.
His collective performance throughout team practices provided more reason to think he is on the verge of a Pro Bowl season, as he dominated the 49ers interior line with speed and strength. He wasn’t allowed to hit the quarterback, one of his hobbies.
Last year, he led all interior defensive linemen with 19 quarterback hits. One year earlier, in his rookie season, he played the most snaps of any interior defensive lineman.
Buckner only had three sacks last year, which do not accurately depict how often he was in the area for a sack. That number figures to increase this year, entering his third career season.