Kurtenbach: Meet the 2025 49ers — with all the new faces, it might take a while

SANTA CLARA For the last insufficient months we ve discussed the San Francisco ers in the abstract They re names on a roster money on a spreadsheet picks in a draft All the ins and outs of a busy albeit less dramatic offseason were intricate to contextualize Until Thursday that is The ers opened their off-season training campaign to the media on Thursday certainly only because such availability is league mandated and for the first time someone other than the folks in the building were able to lay eyes on the organization that is at it stands at present the favorites to win the NFC West this upcoming season And while the Niners only ran through specific drills and did a few no-contact scrimmaging they still made a strong first impression In short who are these guys Related Articles Kurtenbach Brock Purdy s new ers contract isn t just reasonable It s a steal Kurtenbach The ers learned their lesson and corrected last season s biggest error Kurtenbach Brock Purdy s new contract should make everyone the ers fans and especially the QB happy Grading ers NFL Draft picks triumphs and head scratchers Kurtenbach The ers first-round pick could not have been better That s not a comment about whether this squad is good I m not saying they re bad either Thursday was like showing up to a big party where you only know a handful of people Oh hi nice to meet you I think I heard about you from my buddy Where is he anyway And if it s that way for observers what s it like in the building There will be a learning curve for everyone to consider with this Niners organization given the essential roster turnover year over year Players come and players go in the NFL hell the ers have started nine different quarterbacks in Kyle Shanahan s first eight years at the helm of the association But there had been a common thread with the Niners over the last five years and perhaps even beyond That thread seems to have been lost this past offseason as evidenced by how plenty of new faces were in place Thursday There are the little things like a new longsnapper and punter or the fact that there was only one wide receiver practicing that has done anything of worth with San Francisco Jauan Jennings I admit I had to check the roster seemingly after every defensive snap because for the life of me I couldn t tell you much of anything about cornerback Tre Avery who made a couple of nice plays We ve been talking about the ers resetting offseason for the last five months but on Thursday the significance and depth of that reset were put into full focus This association is young This squad looks pretty fast They also look really small in a lot of spots Perhaps the meeting has changed enough amid the Niners run of success to where this is what is necessary to win Maybe not But clearly there has been a shift in philosophy that fully manifested after the campaign And that shift makes it impossible not to view the club s old guard specifically the of late re-signed George Kittle and Fred Warner as well old The band that practiced on Thursday wasn t nearly the whole roster There was no Trent Williams old or Ricky Pearsall hamstring The squad s two starting safeties weren t practicing either Nor were selected of the kids who are going to be demanded to hit the ground running this season So no it wasn t a complete picture that was being painted but I saw enough to get the gist This Niners gang is a mystery box There s enough time before the season starts and likely enough talent for them to be one of the best teams in the NFL this upcoming season The cupcake schedule the league gave the organization helps too But things could go the other way as well There were certain proven NFL players jettisoned this past offseason for fiscal reasons and they have been replaced not with peers but with bottom-of-the-barrel free agents and rookies It puts a massive onus on those who are still at the top of their challenge and have institutional knowledge to step up That means Shanahan and old new defensive coordinator Robert Saleh need to turn in their best seasons yet The big-money veterans need to be the old dogs who can show the puppies how to do things It s a big ask but it s doable And it s not as if a shakeup was unjustified after a six-win campaign However I can t predict whether the ers will win games or in Truthfully I don t think they can tell you either Related Articles ers OTAs Healthy Christian McCaffrey is a sight for sore eyes Veteran punter Thomas Morstead grateful to join ers as gang releases Wishnowsky How promptly can ers get wide receiver Jordan Watkins up to his -second speed ers OTA preview areas to watch as practices intensify Priceless ers helmet gets another Hall of Fame autograph Every year of the Shanahan coaching regime has been clearly defined The first year was about tearing down everything to the studs The following two years were about building up a Super Bowl-caliber band And once the Niners were able to reach that level everything was about staying at that level That era is now unquestionably over Where does this gang stand now They re not rebuilding Not in the classic sense anyway But the status quo has been seriously upended This is a gang that will need to define its possibilities between now and the season opener on Sept in Seattle And maybe they ll need a bit more time than that But in the meantime there s only one appropriate definition for the fledgling Niners No one can genuinely say if they re a contender or a pretender but they certainly are different A meager other OTA observations Really liked what I saw from both Renardo Green and Darrell Luter at cornerback during chosen faux -on- drills I don t know if Christian McCaffrey is back to percent of what he was in the season but he certainly had the kind of jaw-dropping moves and speed that made him look like a man amongst boys Thursday There was various real pop to his competition Frankly I only value that kind of pop in an surroundings like OTAs Dee Winters looks bigger which could give him a big advantage in the race to start next to Fred Warner Ultimately we won t know if that perceived size matters until these guys can veritably hit Rookies Nick Martin and Upton Stout looked small Really small But again I can t tell you that s a matter until these guys are wearing pads They might play a whole lot bigger than their stature Take this with a week s worth of salt but I liked what I saw in drills from left guard Ben Bartch and tackles Austen Pleasants and Spencer Burford Jake Brendel had more of a punch in drills than I remember from last year They were just drills it could mean nothing or everything With Brandon Aiyuk out and Ricky Pearsall sidelined Jauan Jennings remained at X receiver I doubt he moves off that spot until Aiyuk returns despite his issues against press-man coverage last season Purdy trusts him and with the Niners poised to be a more traditional passing attack this season zagging to a classic drop-back style amid a league littered with Shanahan-inspired play action the X receiver is the bulk fundamental in the offense Isaac Guerendo sure doesn t look injured So much for questions about McCaffrey s backup Purdy can still rip it Mac Jones throws a very catchable ball A preseason guarantee People will fall in love with him as a practice performer But Jones as an in-game quarterback That s seemingly a different story the Niners are hoping they don t have to read Jacob Cowing has more explosion off the line of scrimmage and looks heavier His flat and dig routes looked crisp and playing-time worthy That commented rookie Jordan Watkins is going to push him for snaps the Ole Miss product can really run a post A small thing I noticed McCaffrey was running away from a mass of humanity Thursday after another impressive slippery run but as he separated one step behind him and staying one step behind him was rookie defensive lineman Mykel Williams McCaffrey was only sort of slowing down he finishes every run with earnestness So don t read into that aspect of it No my takeaway was that there was a big man -foot- pounds moving really really fast And that s really really fun