Expectations for Ji'Ayir Brown, 49ers' Top Rookies in Preseason

The San Francisco 49ers have one of the best rosters in football and should have Super Bowl aspirations in 2023.

The offense is stacked with one of the best skill-player groups in the league, including Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle. The defense has stars in its own right with Fred Warner, Nick Bosa and Javon Hargrave.

But fans are likely going to have to wait until Week 1 to see those players in extensive action.

Instead, the 49ers will be testing their depth in their three preseason games and seeing who should make the roster. That makes it an ideal proving ground for the Niners' rookie class, which included nine draft picks.

Here, we'll take a look at three of the most interesting ones and make some projections as to what we can expect from the first-year players.

S Ji'Ayir Brown

AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

San Francisco 49ers' Ji'Ayir Brown during the NFL team's football training camp in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, July 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Ji'Ayir Brown was the 49ers' first draft pick in April, but he isn't likely to be the one facing the most pressure. That distinction belongs to kicker Jake Moody. The 49ers took him with the 99th pick and should expect him to take the starting job by the time the season starts.

That's clearly not the expectation with Brown.

The 49ers return a strong safety tandem in Talanoa Hufanga and Tashaun Gipson Sr. The team has already worked its rookie safety with the starters, but it is taking a long-term approach to his development.

"We just got him in the rotation and really long term also trying to take some pressure off [S Tashaun] Gipson [Sr.], who's a seasoned veteran.," defensive coordinator Steve Wilks told media regarding his first-team reps. "And we are looking at the long haul and making sure that he's there at the end of the season."

Translation: The 49ers will be bringing him along somewhat slowly but realize he will be called into action at some point this season. Brown's specialty at Penn State was his versatility, and he took snaps as a deep safety, in the box and line up in the slot.

However, the 23-year-old should look to completely grasp one safety position before branching out. There are going to be some mistakes and some blown coverages, but he is an instinctive player who should see a ton of reps in the preseason.

Brown had 10 interceptions over the last two seasons, so it won't be surprising to see him pick off at least one in the preseason.

TE Cameron Latu

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - JULY 27: Cameron Latu #81 of the San Francisco 49ers works out during training camp at SAP Performance Facility on July 27, 2023 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

The 49ers were only in 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) 16 percent of the time last season, per 33rd team. That was just 23rd in the league.

Part of that is because they are one of the few teams that has an actual fullback and can play in 21 personnel (two running backs, one tight end). Part of that could have had to do with the coaching staff not being all that excited about Tyler Kroft.

Whether that trend changes might depend on how they feel about third-round pick Cameron Latu.

The former Alabama tight end is coming in as a somewhat raw prospect after joining Nick Saban's team as a linebacker and transitioning to offense. The Niners have even acknowledged that he has a lot of development left to undergo.

"Even when he had bad technique as a blocker, he was able to control people, which just shows that there's innate strength in there," tight ends coach Brian Fleury said, per Matt Barrows of The Athletic. "And that, combined with a very fluid set of movement skills, kind of lets you know that once he does get to this level and is able to combine the movement skills with the technique that we're going to ask him to execute, then he's going to be an extremely difficult player to contend with."

As for the preseason, we should expect Latu to see a lot of reps. It wouldn't be shocking to see him get some run as the second tight end in 12 personnel sets. But we should expect to see him also play George Kittle's role at times and get the ball thrown his way.

K Jake Moody

AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

San Francisco 49ers' Jake Moody takes part in an NFL football rookie minicamp session in Santa Clara, Calif., Friday, May 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Moody is the only rookie who is going to be expected to assume a starting role from the opening kickoff.

The 49ers made him the first kicker drafted in the 2023 version of the event. General manager John Lynch said he believes the kicker "has the makings of a really cornerstone, foundational-type player."

Robbie Gould went 27-of-32 on field goals last season with a long of 51. Moody hit 29-of-35 last year, but his season-high was a 59-yarder against TCU in the Fiesta Bowl.

The team technically has a kicking competition going with veteran Zane Gonzalez. However, it doesn't seem likely that Lynch would take a kicker in the third round only to give the job to a veteran who has played for four teams in five seasons and missed all of 2022.

Expect Moody to officially win the job during the preseason and maybe get a shot at kicking another one beyond 50 yards. The 2021 Lou Groza Award winner should make the Niners offense even more efficient because he has a slightly better range than Gould did at this point.