49ers' 53-man forecast: The backup QB battle and what to do with Jack Colletto (2024)

How many starting spots are up for grabs for the 49ers? Assuming Brock Purdy returns to practice comfortably ahead of the Sept. 10 opener in Pittsburgh, the answer might be zero.

Which is what you’d expect on a talent-laden, veteran team that didn’t have a draft pick until the end of the third round. After the starters, however, there is all sorts of potential for movement. Linebacker is one of the deepest and youngest positions on the team. And the 49ers might have some upheaval at tight end as well. Oh, and there might be a headline or two (hundred) this summer on the quarterback competition.

The following is a look at how the 53-man roster is shaping up and where the most interesting roster battles will be in training camp.

Quarterback (3)

Purdy, Trey Lance, Sam Darnold

Biggest battle: The team’s juiciest summertime storylines will be how quickly Purdy returns to practice and, when he does, who ends up as his top backup, Darnold or Lance. The winner of that competition will be active on game days. The No. 3 quarterback will be in uniform but, per new league rules, inactive unless both quarterbacks ahead of him are forced to leave the contest.

Where does this leave No. 4 quarterback Brandon Allen? The 49ers might be able to get him to the practice squad. But with half a dozen other teams using a version of Kyle Shanahan’s offense, any of those teams could poach Allen if they have an injury at quarterback.

Running back (6)

Christian McCaffrey, Elijah Mitchell, Jordan Mason, Tyrion Davis-Price, Kyle Juszczyk (fullback), Jack Colletto (fullback)

Big question: Two fullbacks? It’ll come down to whether the 49ers think they can risk waiving undrafted rookie Colletto so they can re-sign him to the practice squad. Colletto had a number of suitors after the draft, including the Jets and Dolphins, who wanted him as a fullback. That is, he’d likely remain attractive to those teams considering how similar their offenses are to the 49ers’.

Colletto would be valuable at fullback for the 49ers only if Juszczyk got injured. But the 49ers also see him as a core special teamer. It’s possible he takes the roster spot that normally would go to a reserve linebacker or safety.

Meanwhile, Davis-Price and Mason likely will get a lot of work in the preseason. How they do in those games will help determine the pecking order between the two. At least one of the team’s undrafted rookies, Khalan Laborn or Ronald Awatt, seems destined for the practice squad.

Wide receiver (5)

Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, Ray-Ray McCloud III, Danny Gray

Big battle: McCloud and Gray have to hold off seventh-round pick Ronnie Bell and Tay Martin, and the prediction here is that they will. McCloud was strong on punt returns in 2022 and, having been a do-everything offensive weapon at Clemson, is a good backup for Samuel. Gray has uncommon speed, which at the very least will serve as a deterrent to defenses creeping up to stop San Francisco’s potent running game.

If Bell learns every wide receiver spot as thoroughly as the 49ers believe he can, he’ll be the first receiver called from the practice squad if there’s an injury. He also appears to be the team’s No. 2 punt returner.

Tight end (3)

George Kittle, Cameron Latu, Brayden Willis

Big battle: The tight end spot hinges on how quickly draft picks Latu and Willis pick up both the offense and special teams. Any hiccups will open the door for reliable veterans Charlie Woerner and/or Ross Dwelley. Still, both players were behind Tyler Kroft on the depth chart in 2022 and the team didn’t bother to re-sign Kroft during the offseason. That suggests the 49ers are ready to make changes at the position.

Offensive line (9)

Trent Williams, Aaron Banks, Jake Brendel, Spencer Burford, Colton McKivitz, Jon Feliciano, Matt Pryor, Jaylon Moore, Nick Zakelj

Big battle: Zakelj vs. Jason Poe. The 49ers really like Poe, who played right guard in the recent OTAs and minicamp. He was voted the scout-team player of the year on offense at the end of the 2022 season. We give the edge, however, to Zakelj, who, after all, was a sixth-round draft pick in 2022 while Poe went undrafted. The 49ers also are cross-training Zakelj at center. He’d likely be inactive on game days if all the other linemen are healthy. If there’s an injury at guard or center, Feliciano would move into the starting line and Zakelj would be the top backup at those spots.

Kyle Shanahan gave OL Jason Poe this special helmet for being one of the #49ers’ scout team players of the year (offense). pic.twitter.com/FkuobpskiL

— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) January 27, 2023

Some readers might want to know about guard Joey Fisher, the undrafted free agent who got a $130,000 guarantee to sign with San Francisco. The team is excited about Fisher, but as a developmental player. Second-round guards who played at big-time universities have trouble getting on the field as rookies (See: Banks, Aaron). It’s hard to see the team using a roster spot on an undrafted lineman who played tackle at Shepherd. The same goes for tight end-to-tackle convert Leroy Watson. The team feels it may have a legitimate swing tackle in Watson, but probably not until the 2024 season.

Defensive line (10)

Nick Bosa, Javon Hargrave, Arik Armstead, Clelin Ferrell, Drake Jackson, Javon Kinlaw, Kevin Givens, Kalia Davis, Kerry Hyder Jr., Robert Beal Jr.

Big battle: Beal vs. Austin Bryant. We give the edge to the rookie, Beal, because he has the combination of burst and length (nearly 35-inch arms) the 49ers are looking for. The truth is that it was almost impossible to assess defensive and offensive linemen in the no-contact spring practices. How the two tall, lanky edge rushers fare against McKivitz, Moore, Pryor and Williams will go a long way toward determining who makes the initial 53-man squad. (Scratch that: The only pass rusher who ever has any modicum of success against Williams is Bosa. Williams isn’t a fair gauge.)

There are other question marks along the defensive line. Davis seemed to have an issue with his surgically repaired right knee at the end of the recent minicamp. Shanahan indicated it wasn’t a concern, but it’s something to monitor. And Hyder, 32, didn’t look nearly as good last season (one sack) as he did in 2020 (8 1/2 sacks). T.Y. McGill and undrafted Spencer Waege are other options at defensive tackle and both could land on the practice squad if they don’t make the active roster.

Linebacker (5)

Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw, Oren Burks, Marcelino McCrary-Ball, Dee Winters

Big battle: McCrary-Ball vs. Winters vs. Jalen Graham vs. Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles vs. Curtis Robinson vs. Mariano Sori-Marin. We’re fairly confident the top three linebackers will be Warner, Greenlaw and Burks. The next two are a toss-up.

We awarded those spots to McCrary-Ball, who was learning middle linebacker this spring, and Winters, the sixth-round pick who drew comparisons to Greenlaw from linebackers coach Johnny Holland. The deciding factor very well could be how the candidates perform on special teams, which is where Robinson and Flannigan-Fowles have excelled in previous seasons. Who knows, maybe the 49ers will be able to trade a linebacker at the end of camp like they did in 2021 when they sent Jonas Griffith to Denver for a late-round draft pick.

Safety (4)

Talanoa Hufanga, Tashaun Gipson Sr., George Odum, Ji’Ayir Brown

Big question: Is there a place for Myles Hartsfield on the 53-man roster? New defensive coordinator Steve Wilks didn’t get to bring any of his former assistants with him from Carolina, and the only ex-Panther defender the team signed in March was Hartsfield, a 19-game starter over the last two seasons. Hartsfield mostly played safety in the spring, but he also can play nickel cornerback. If the 49ers don’t keep Colletto on the active roster, Hartsfield would be among the top candidates for that spot.

Cornerback (5)

Charvarius Ward, Deommodore Lenoir, Isaiah Oliver, Samuel Womack III, Ambry Thomas

Big battle: Thomas vs. Darrell Luter Jr. Thomas didn’t make the second-year leap the 49ers were hoping for last season. Instead, he was leapfrogged by Lenoir — who was taken two rounds after him in 2021 — and played only 41 snaps on defense. Still, Thomas received praise from Wilks on the last day of spring practice and, with Ward sitting out the sessions, took some repetitions with the first-team defense. That’s why we give him a slight edge over Luter, a fifth-round pick this year who missed the last week of practices with an undisclosed injury.

Two young players to keep an eye on are D’Shawn Jamison and Qwuantrezz Knight. Jamison stood out with his sticky coverage in the spring practices. Knight, dealing with a broken hand this spring, can play three spots in the secondary and has the makings of a top special teams player.

Specialists (3)

Jake Moody (kicker), Mitch Wishnowsky (punter), Taybor Pepper (long snapper)

Big battle: Moody vs. Zane Gonzalez. Well, the 49ers would love to advertise it as a big battle because it might create some trade interest in Gonzalez, whose only shortcoming in recent seasons is that he’s been injured. If he remains healthy through late August the 49ers might be able to generate a late-round pick.

(Top photo of Jack Colletto: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)