49ers post-NFL Draft depth chart: How many rookies could reasonably start Week 1?

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The San Francisco 49ers lost eight starting players during free agency. We don’t see eight rookies stepping into those spots, but it’s close.

The following is an updated depth chart that shows where Mykel Williams, Nick Martin, Upton Stout and the rest of the team’s 11-man draft class fit into the mix. The 49ers on Sunday also agreed to terms with six undrafted rookies and — brace yourselves — none of them is an offensive tackle. The rookies are italicized.

Quarterback

Starter: Brock Purdy

Backups: Mac Jones, Tanner Mordecai

Injured: Kurtis Rourke

In terms of the regular-season roster, the only question might be whether the team keeps two or three quarterbacks on its 53-man roster. Rourke, the 49ers’ second of three seventh-round picks, played on a torn ACL at Indiana in 2024 and had surgery when the season ended. Kyle Shanahan said Rourke probably won’t be cleared by the start of training camp and “might not be ready for another year.” That is, there might not be any real QB competition until 2026.

“Just loved his size, loved how he throws, loved how he plays the position,” Shanahan said of the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Rourke. “Especially watching him this (past) year. I don’t think it was a coincidence how good of a year they had with the type of quarterback they had.”

Running back

Starters: Christian McCaffrey, Kyle Juszczyk (fullback)

Backups: Isaac Guerendo, Jordan James, Patrick Taylor Jr., Corey Kiner, Israel Abanikanda

Technically, Taylor might end up ahead of James, a fifth-round pick out of Oregon, because of Taylor’s value on special teams. But if there are injuries to McCaffrey or Guerendo, look for James to get the nod. He’s an experienced runner who’s solid in all facets of his position. That includes pass protection, something that running backs coach Bobby Turner must be satisfied with before a rookie tailback can see the field.

Wide receiver

Starters: Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall, Demarcus Robinson

Backups: Jacob Cowing, Jordan Watkins, Trent Taylor, Terique Owens, Junior Bergen, Isaiah Neyor, Russell Gage Jr., Isaiah Hodgins

Injured: Brandon Aiyuk

Watkins has stretch-the-field speed and stood out last season with several deep snags over the top of the defense. He also catches the ball well in stride and seems particularly well-suited for the crossing routes that are a staple of the 49ers’ offense. Shanahan is tough on rookie wideouts, and we probably shouldn’t expect a lot from Watkins in Year 1. In terms of skill set, however, he and Pearsall are the closest thing they have to Aiyuk, who could begin the season on an injury list.

Tight end

Starter: George Kittle

Backups: Luke Farrell, Jake Tonges, Brayden Willis, Mason Pline

The first two spots are clear: Kittle is a nearly every-down player and Farrell is the blocking specialist — especially in the run game — the 49ers recently had in Charlie Woerner but were missing last year. A player to watch is Pline, a former basketball forward who’s the biggest of the group (6-6, 254) and who spent most of his rookie season last year on the practice squad.

Offensive tackle

Starters: Trent Williams, Colton McKivitz

Backups: Spencer Burford, Austen Pleasants, Sebastian Gutierrez, Jalen McKenzie, Isaac Alarcon

This is the most glaring hole on the roster after the 49ers didn’t use any of their 11 picks on the position. As it stands now, Burford, who the 49ers considered a guard through his first two and a half seasons, is the best bet to be the swing tackle, followed by Pleasants, a late-season addition last year.

The only other tackle with NFL game experience is Gutierrez, who played three snaps last season. Alarcon, meanwhile, has been suspended for the first six games of the upcoming season for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. He still can practice with the team until the start of the regular season.

The 49ers haven’t added a swing tackle this offseason, leaving Spencer Burford the favorite to assume the role. (David Gonzales / Imagn Images)

Guard

Starters: Dominick Puni, Ben Bartch

Backups: Nick Zakelj, Connor Colby, Zack Johnson, Drew Moss

We’ve penciled in Bartch — who looked good in a brief stint at left guard last season — as one of the starters, but the 49ers may have him compete with Zakelj for the job. Colby, meanwhile, was the first of the team’s three seventh-round picks. That he played in Iowa’s zone-blocking scheme made him an easy evaluation for the 49ers. He’s also experienced, having started 37 games at right guard, seven at left guard and six at right tackle. The 49ers are looking at Moss, an undrafted rookie from Colorado State, at both guard and center.

Center

Starter: Jake Brendel

Backups: Matt Hennessy, Drake Nugent

The 49ers signed Hennessy to a two-year deal late in the 2024 season. The team’s steady support of Brendel suggests his starting job is safe. Still, Hennessy, a third-round pick to the Atlanta Falcons in 2020, is the most prominent challenger Brendel has had in the last four seasons.

Defensive end

Starters: Nick Bosa, Mykel Williams

Backups: Yetur Gross-Matos, Sam Okuayinonu, Robert Beal Jr., Alex Barrett, Jonathan Garvin, Tarron Jackson

Injured: Drake Jackson

Gross-Matos could end up starting ahead of Williams early in the season if the 49ers begin games in their base defense. But the 49ers drafted the big, long-armed Williams because he’s a three-down player, and he ought to end up logging the second-most snaps at that spot after Bosa.

Defensive tackle

Starters: Jordan Elliott, Kevin Givens

Backups: Alfred Collins, CJ West, Evan Anderson, Kalia Davis, Sebastian Valdez

We’re predicting that veterans Elliott and Givens are the Week 1 starters, though it would be a little surprising if Collins or West — or both — are in the starting mix. Body-wise, Collins is reminiscent of 2020 first-round pick Javon Kinlaw but without the knee issue that plagued Kinlaw early in his career. West is like one-time 49er D.J. Jones. Anderson, meanwhile, is part of the group that stuck around the team facility in the offseason. He’s been working out alongside fellow 2024 rookies Puni and Malik Mustapha.

Linebacker

Starters: Fred Warner, Nick Martin

Backups: Dee Winters, Tatum Bethune, Luke Gifford, Jalen Graham, DaShaun White, Stone Blanton

Injured: Curtis Robinson

Martin, the third-round pick out of Oklahoma State, will compete with Winters for the weakside spot that previously belonged to Dre Greenlaw. Whoever comes in second in that battle likely will be the team’s strongside linebacker. Bethune and undrafted rookie Blanton probably are best as middle linebackers. Gifford was signed in free agency because of his special-teams prowess.

Cornerback

Starters: Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green, Upton Stout

Backups: Tre Brown, Siran Neal, Darrell Luter Jr., Chase Lucas, Tre Tomlinson, Tre Avery, Jakob Robinson

If Stout, the Western Kentucky cornerback taken at the end of the third round, isn’t ready to be the top nickel corner early in the season, Lenoir could fill in at that spot with Brown replacing him at outside cornerback. Other possibilities at nickel cornerback include Lucas and Tomlinson. Like Gifford, Neal was added last month for his special-teams ability.

Safety

Starters: Ji’Ayir Brown, Jason Pinnock

Backups: Marques Sigle, Richie Grant, George Odum, Quindell Johnson, Jaylen Mahoney

Injured: Mustapha

The 49ers had a musical-chairs situation at safety last season and could be in for one this year, too, due to Mustapha’s injury, which promises to keep him out at least at the start of the season. Grant and Sigle, the fifth-round pick from Kansas State, are in the mix for a starting spot. Pinnock might have the edge, considering he has the most experience of that group, 39 career starts, and also played for defensive coordinator Robert Saleh with the New York Jets in 2021.

Special teams

Kicker: Jake Moody

Punter: Mitch Wishnowsky

Long snapper: Jon Weeks

The 49ers have said they will bring in a veteran kicker to push Moody, who struggled in the second half of the 2024 season. Seventh-round pick Bergen will compete with Cowing to be the punt returner. Guerendo likely will reprise his role as kick returner.

(Top photo of Mykel Williams: John Adams / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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