Roster Holes 49ers Must Fill Before Training Camp
The San Francisco 49ers should feel content with where their roster stands ahead of training camp.
Kyle Shanahan's team has an abundance of top-end offensive talent to surround whomever starts at quarterback in Week 1, whether it be a fully healthy Brock Purdy, Sam Darnold or Trey Lance.
Defensively, the 49ers have one of the best defensive line groups in the NFL and their secondary has the potential to be one of the best units in football as well.
With that being said, the 49ers do not have many roster holes left to fill.
They might need a bit of reinforcement behind Dre Greenlaw and Fred Warner at linebacker and they have to figure out their kicker situation, but they are not in dire straits at any position on the depth chart.
Reserve Linebacker
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The 49ers do not have to worry about their starting linebackers.
Greenlaw and Warner are one of the best tandems at the position, but there is a drop off on paper between them and the rest of the linebacker group.
Oren Burks, who had just 15 solo tackles in 2022, could be the team's third starter at linebacker.
Most of the other linebackers on the depth chart are first-and-second-year players who need strong training camp performances to increase their chances of making the 53-man roster.
That is a good problem for Shanahan and his staff to worry about since they can spend a good amount of time evaluating each one of the potential reserves over the next few weeks.
The 49ers could look to the free-agent market if none of those reserves step up, especially if some players who are cut intrigue the coaching staff more than the current prospects.
Kicker
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The 49ers have two kickers listed on their roster.
Veteran kicker Zane Gonzalez and 2023 third-round pick Jake Moody will compete for the starting job in training camp.
The assumption is that Moody fills the roster hole on special teams because the 49ers used a high draft pick for a kicker on him.
Gonzalez's continued presence on the depth chart suggests there will at least be some competition to fill Robbie Gould's shoes.
The 49ers have to get the kicker decision right because there could be a few games early in the season in which they rely on the special teams more as Purdy gets back to 100 percent from his the elbow injury he suffered in the NFC Championship Game.
The good news is the 49ers will not have to scour the free-agent market if one kicker does not fare well in training camp, but it is still a roster hole because there is no defined starter yet.
No. 4 Wide Receiver
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The 49ers have an overwhelming amount of candidates to fill the No. 4 wide receiver spot.
Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings will receive most of the snaps and targets throughout the 2023 regular season, but the 49ers need reliable depth in case one of them misses a few games.
Ray-Ray McCloud is the most obvious option to fill one of the final wide receiver spots on the roster because of his special teams value.
McCloud only had 14 receptions last season, but he made an impact with 243 yards, one touchdown and a whopping 17.4 yards per reception.
McCloud could be the simple answer to filling the No. 4 wide out spot, but there are plenty of competitors waiting to challenge him in training camp.
Willie Snead, Danny Gray, Chris Conley, Ronnie Bell and Dazz Newsome are among the wide receivers looking to stick inside the 49ers offense.
The wide array of experience from players like Conley and Snead trying to revive their career to rookies and second-year players looking to make the roster should at least make the competition fun to watch.
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