5 Biggest Takeaways from the San Francisco 49ers' OTAs

The San Francisco 49ers overhauled their team this offseason—new players, new coaches, new schemes. After two weeks of OTAs, we have a better idea of what they’ll look like next season.

The offense seems faster in more ways than one. A late-round draft pick is starting to turn heads. A 27-year-old rookie is trying to learn to play running back. A 27-year-old starting quarterback is trying to change his throwing motion. And a 27-year-old three-time All-Pro inside linebacker is back after tearing his ACL and MCL in 2014.

In ascending order, here are the five biggest takeaways so far from the 49ers’ OTAs.

5. Uptempo Offense

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

The 49ers used to have one of the slowest offenses in the NFL. They had slow players and a slow pace between plays, consistently snapping the ball with less than five seconds left on the play clock.

All of that is changing. This offseason, the Niners let go of slow players like Michael Crabtree and Frank Gore and replaced them with fast players like Torrey Smith and Reggie Bush.

The Niners also got rid of offensive coordinator Greg Roman and replaced him with Geep Chryst, who seems to have sped up the tempo of the offense.

“Sometimes we break the huddle at 30 (seconds),” said left tackle Joe Staley, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. “Honestly, last year it was pretty miserable as far as clock management and what we were doing. That’s definitely a point of emphasis this offseason – operating faster.”

Barrows points out that the Niners committed nine delay-of-game penalties last season—tops in the NFL. The average is 4.8. They should be closer to the average next season.

4. Seventh-Round Pick Trenton Brown Standing out at Right Tackle

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

Last season, the 49ers offense depended far too much on starting right tackle Anthony Davis.

It averaged 5.4 yards per carry during the seven games he played and only 3.9 yards per carry during the nine games he missed. Davis’ backup, Jonathan Martin, was too weak for the 49ers’ power running game.

The 49ers let Martin go during free agency this season and replaced him with a rookie seventh-round draft pick—Trenton Brown.

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com said Brown “can plow holes as a run blocker, but can only play right guard in a power scheme.” Scouts question if Brown can hold up in pass protection as a tackle in the NFL.

He seems to be holding up just fine in OTAs, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. “Brown was only beaten once by a pass rusher” during one-on-one pass-rushing drills on Friday, wrote Barrows. “That pass rusher happened to be Aldon Smith, who got the rookie with an inside move.”

The Niners desperately need a quality backup right tackle. If they found one in the seventh round of the draft, more power to them.

3. Former Rugby League Star Jarryd Hayne Struggling at Running Back

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

The 49ers list former Rugby League star Jarryd Hayne as a running back on their website. He doesn’t seem to be taking well to his position.

“Hayne runs too upright to succeed as an NFL running back,” wrote Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area. “Maybe he’s just unsure of himself, too, but he does not exhibit the kind of short-area quickness that’s a necessity at this position.”

It’s too early to write off Hayne—he still hasn’t played in pads with live hitting. We’ll get a better sense of his ability to play running back during preseason.

But it seems unlikely he’ll make the 49ers’ final roster as a running back. The Niners already have four who probably will make the team—Carlos Hyde, Reggie Bush, Kendall Hunter and rookie fourth-round pick Mike Davis.

If Hayne makes the team, he probably has to make it as a kick and punt returner.

2. Colin Kaepernick Trying to Revamp His Throwing Motion

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

Colin Kaepernick has shortened his throwing motion, as you can see in this clip posted by Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News.

Kaepernick used to bring the ball down and back before releasing it—he looked almost like a fisherman casting in a river. Now he brings the ball straight up to his ear before releasing it. He looks a quarterback, a totally different quarterback.

At least he does during warm-ups. When team drills started Friday afternoon, he reverted to his old mechanics—the long, loopy delivery.

Which is to be expected. He threw one way his whole life. As a result, he ingrained that motion into his muscle memory. No one changes muscle memory over night. Kaepernick is in the middle of a long, long process.

1. NaVorro Bowman Practicing with a Knee Brace

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

NaVorro Bowman spent last year rehabbing a torn ACL and MCL.

Last week—the 49ers’ second week of OTAs—Bowman participated in all three of the 49ers practices and wore a brace on his surgically repaired left knee, according to Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area.

“I don’t want to (wear it), but I’m doing exactly what the doctors ask me to do,” Bowman said in the 49ers’ locker room after Friday’s practice. “Later on down the road I’ll get rid of it. I don’t like it. It’s not letting me run as fast as I want to, but it’s keeping my knee safe and that’s what’s most important.”

The brace is more than a mere precaution. It’s vital, because the knee hasn’t fully recovered yet. “I go out there some days and I feel great, and some days I have to fight through it,” Bowman said. “That’s part of the process. I understand that. But, mentally, it messes with me sometimes.”

If the regular season started this weekend, Bowman probably couldn’t play. Luckily for him, he has three months to strengthen his knee gradually.

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

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