San Francisco 49ers: 8 Biggest Winners and Losers of OTA's, So Far

With OTA's underway league-wide, the 49ers have a number of players competing and getting better in the Bay Area. San Francisco has one of the more competitive rosters in the NFL, so the storylines floating around minicamp are pretty excited given the high level of play.

The 49ers have been hard at work in their "football oasis," and started at full-speed. The Niners picked up where they left off, and head coach Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers coaching staff are hoping to shape the rest of their Super Bowl-caliber team.

In the following slides, we will break down and discuss some headlines from the camp's "winners" and "losers." Follow me through the breakdown for personnel-related news from 49ers' OTA's.

Winner: Alex Boone

The 49ers are looking to fill the right guard position, and currently have several candidates fighting it out. San Francisco has spent three draft choices in the past two years on players to possibly fill that position, but instead it is Alex Boone that has emerged as the leader.

With Daniel Kilgore, Joe Looney and Jason Slowey competing at the position, head coach Jim Harbaugh has been more than pleased with Boone's effort so far. Boone has been with the team longer than the other three candidates and has been a solid team player as a backup.

He is finally getting his chance to become a starter for the 49ers in between Jonathan Goodwin and Anthony Davis. Even at 6'7", Boone has been playing low enough that his height will be an asset before it becomes an issue.

He is winning the job right now—it'll be up to one of the other players to step up big in order to take it from him.

Loser: WR's Not Named Moss, Crabtree, Jenkins, Manningham or Williams

This is now a jam-packed position in the Bay Area. All the more well-known receivers have shown up and are looking good. It's going to be hard to imagine any big surprises at the wide receiver position, come the regular season roster finalization.

Receivers like Brian Tyms, Brett Swain, Joe Hastings, Kyle Nelson, Chris Owusu and Nathan Palmer have a real uphill battle this offseason. San Francisco has Michael Crabtree, Kyle Williams and Ted Ginn Jr. returning and they also added a future Hall of Famer in Randy Moss and a Super Bowl winner in Mario Manningham. 

Not to mention their 2011 first round selection of wide receiver A.J. Jenkins out of the University of Illinois.

San Francisco will only carry so many receivers in 2012, and right now they are pretty stacked at the position.

Winner: Will Tukuafu and Cory Nelms

Two natural defenders in Will Tukuafu and Cory Nelms have been singled out by the 49ers coaching staff, but for a good reason. Tukuafu and Nelms have been given the opportunity to play three phases of football for the 49ers, getting reps on offense, defense and special teams.

Tukuafu has found a spot on the 49ers offense, getting reps the past few days at full back. The 293-pounder even recently caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Alex Smith on a swing pass, beating Patrick Willis inside. It's likely that the staff first noticed Tukuafu's athleticism when he recovered a fumble against Seattle in Week 1 of 2011.

When Nelms isn't getting reps on defense, he's been working with the wide receivers.

The 49ers have been looking for a possible three-way player and it's looking like Tukuafu and Nelms are the possible candidates. This will give them a very good shot to make an extremely talented roster, so OTA's have been good to them thus far.

Winner: Randy Moss

According to everything from the Niners' locale, Randy Moss has shown up and is the old Randy Moss—err, the young Randy Moss.

Moss, 35, has been flying around 49ers camp, doing everything he's been known to do in this league and more. Physically, he is in elite shape and has the same incredible leaping and catching ability that made him famous in this league.

So far, this is a gamble that looks to be paying out for Jim Harbaugh and San Francisco.

Winner: Michael Crabtree

Michael Crabtree is one of the biggest winners of OTA's so far because for the first time in a long time, he's healthy.

Crabtree is reportedly healthier than he has been in his entire NFL career, and is finally participating in his first full offseason. The extra time for Crabtree will be invaluable, learning the playbook until it's second nature and building his chemistry with quarterback Alex Smith.

Crabtree is also benefiting from having a legend like Randy Moss around. Crabtree actually has a surrounding cast on offense now where he will not be the focus. He can learn from these players around him and on game day, he will also be able to use their presence to his advantage.

Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee had this to say about Crabtree's Tuesday practice at OTA's:

"

The best-looking player on Tuesday may have been Michael Crabtree, who looked very quick in and out of breaks and who caught several passes in the middle of the field. Crabtree lined up in the slot position during one red-zone play, and that's where he may see a lot of action on third downs this year.

"

Good things are ahead for the fourth-year wide receiver.

Loser: RB's Not Named Gore, Jacobs, James or Hunter

Very similar to the wide receiver position, the running back group is a highly competitive and deep bunch. The 49ers had the 8th best ground game in the league in 2011, but are looking to improve on that impressive benchmark.

San Francisco has four running backs right now in Frank Gore, Brandon Jacobs, LaMichael James and Kendall Hunter that will be very tough to outwork. Gore and James are both locks to be on the final roster—the staff really likes Hunter, too. And Jacobs will be tough to cut because he brings an element to the run game that they specifically sought out in free agency, an element no other back brings.

Players like Anthony Dixon and Jewel Hampton face an uphill battle, and competition-wise, OTA's probably are not going that well for them yet. One of these two players is either going to have to switch positions or part the seas if they want to make this team.

Winner: Aldon Smith

Last year's first round selection for the 49ers worked out quite well, even though he was only a situational player in his first year. In 2012, Aldon Smith will make the move to starting outside linebacker, so this offseason is very important to him.

The good news is that Smith has not been complacent and is working harder than ever.

Jim Harbaugh on Aldon Smith:

"

That's somebody else who's really rising fast. Doing a great job -- him and Justin Smith are working really well together in tandem there. It's been the same Aldon we saw last season and even better. He's working extremely hard. He's been very attentive in all the offseason sessions...he's doing a great job.

"

Encouraging words from Harbaugh regarding one of the 49ers' best and rising superstars on defense. He's had a strong start to the 2012 offseason.

Winner: Alex Smith

Alex Smith has to be the biggest winner in all of this, because he's the veteran quarterback and this is his first offseason transitioning with the same system.

In addition to that, this will be his first full offseason with the man who changed his life in Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh has already gone ahead and surrounded his quarterback with an arsenal of offensive weapons, too. Smith will be able to gel with his new group of offensive threats that is strong in both air and ground.

Another bit of extra credit Smith received was when he sought out delivery guru Tom House and worked on his mechanics, leadership and mental approach to the coming season. 

Last season was the best of Smith's career, and in 2012 it's going to be even better.