49ers' Projected Winners of Key Position Battles

The San Francisco 49ers are a team with few flaws. On paper, they figure to be one of the top teams in the NFC and a real threat to get to and win the Super Bowl.

They have concrete answers to many of the positions on a depth chart. There are few questions about who is going to get the ball and they have entrenched starters throughout the roster.

However, there are a few spots and roles that were up for grabs when the team first started camp. With a few weeks of practices and one of three preseason games in the books, those battles are starting come into focus.

With just two preseason games look, here's a look at three of those position battles, where they stand and a projection for how they'll end up by Week 1.

Slot Corner

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Isaiah Oliver

Losing Jimmie Ward wasn't just a big deal at safety, he was also the team's best slot defender. That leaves an open competition for the team to find a nickel corner who can play inside while Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir hold down the outside.

The team signed Isaiah Oliver from the Atlanta Falcons to be the starter on paper, but head coach Kyle Shanahan was pretty clear after the first preseason game that he's not a lock to start there.

The team sat all of their locked in starters on defense but Oliver played.

"Just because he isn't a guaranteed starter," Shanahan told reporters when asked about the decision to play Oliver. "He has been doing that spot a lot, but there's a lot of competition there. We sat out our outside corners, but we didn't want to sit out any nickels and needed some guys to play because there's a lot of things we're still deciding."

The bad news kept rolling for Oliver with defensive coordinator Steve Wilks' comments to the media. In the wake of his performance in the preseason game he noted that the Niners could move Lenoir inside if Ambry Thomas or Samuel Womack III could play on the outside, per David Lombardi of The Athletic.

Oliver might be struggling to make the impression that was expected when he signed this offseason. But it's important to keep in mind that he's still the most proven option in the room and had a solid season with the Falcons last season, giving up a 76.2 passer rating.

It might be close but he's still the favorite to win the job.

Projection: Isaiah Oliver will start.

Quarterback

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SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - JULY 27: Brock Purdy #13 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)

This one really isn't that hard to project because Kyle Shanahan has basically spelled out how things are going to shake out.

But going into training camp things weren't quite as clear. With Brock Purdy coming off a UCL injury and really succeeding in a small sample size last season, it wasn't a done deal that he would retain the starting job.

Now that he's healthy, there's really not a quarterback battle to monitor.

"He would have to melt in practice to lose it. And Brock's too good of a player to melt in practice—and so are the other guys," Shanahan told Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated about Purdy keeping the starting job.

Shanahan was surprisingly transparent with why the 49ers signed Sam Darnold this offseason, noting that it was a move that was borne of the uncertainty surrounding Purdy's injury. If Lance were to be in line to start they wanted a capable backup behind him.

That leaves a pretty clear pecking order.

Projection: Brock Purdy starts with Trey Lance serving as the backup and Sam Darnold sticking on the roster as the third quarterback.

Defensive End

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Clelin Ferrell

Nick Bosa's holdout is uncomfortable for San Francisco on two fronts. The obvious is that Bosa is one of the best pass-rushers in football and their defense isn't the same if he's not playing.

The other is that it's still not determined who will be the primary defensive end lining up opposite their All-Pro rusher.

Drake Jackson was likely the presumed starter heading into camp, but he's been hindered by a hamstring injury so he'll need to impress as he returns to practice this week. The Niners have made a good living out of reviving some edge rushers career and Clelin Ferrell is this year's candidate to play that role.

He had a sack against his former team in the first preseason game against the Raiders. If he can continue to shine in the preseason he might prove that he's worthy of getting the start over Jackson after his underwhelming rookie year.

Until Bosa comes back, there's room for both of them to take a starting job.

Hopefully, for San Francisco's sake, they are able to come to terms with Bosa and they can figure out a rotation with Jackson and Ferrell.

Projection: Ferrell starts opposite Bosa.