SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers’ joint practices with the New Orleans Saints were scuttled, making the teams’ preseason matchup Sunday a bit more critical.
Where do Kyle Shanahan and his staff want to see more consistency? Which roster spots are still up for grabs?
Here are five things to watch in the game:
Can Dee Winters be more consistent?
The 49ers have plans for Winters this season and next. They’d love for him to become their third linebacker, the so-called strongside ’backer on the field on base downs. And if he excels in that role, they wonder if he can take on the far bigger weakside role next season. Both players slated for that job this year, De’Vondre Campbell Sr. and Dre Greenlaw, aren’t signed beyond this season.
After looking good in practices, however, Winters was a bit out of control in the preseason game in Tennessee. He was aggressive and fast as advertised, but he also overran a tackle attempt and seemed out of step in pass coverage on some snaps.
“It’s just details, the fundamental details,” defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen said Wednesday. “And then once you have that and that’s second nature, that’s when you see him really flying and taking his shots. We want him to play like that all the time. So it’s just, how can we cut it loose like that as consistently as possible?”
It’s natural a young player like Winters would be overeager in his first live action of the season. The 49ers want to see him settle down against the Saints. If he can’t, the team might have to go with a veteran, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles or Curtis Robinson, at the strongside spot early in the season.
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Who takes Kalia Davis’ spot in the rotation?
Davis, who will be out for several weeks after undergoing knee surgery Thursday, was in line to be the 49ers’ fifth defensive tackle this season. He had a strong outing against the Titans and, according to Sorensen, stood out in practices.
“I know he’s had some injuries in the past, but I loved how he was playing,” Sorensen said. “I was so fired up for him, and it was every day.”
The question now becomes whether there’s a legitimate candidate to take the fifth spot behind Javon Hargrave, Maliek Collins, Jordan Elliott and Kevin Givens. Possibilities include a pair of youngsters, Shakel Brown (No. 60) and rookie Evan Anderson (No. 66).
The 49ers made a concerted effort to add bulk to the interior of their defensive line in the offseason with Collins and especially Elliott. Anderson and Brown are in the same full-figured mold. Anderson got 34 snaps in the first preseason game. Brown had 28. They ought to get roughly the same amount of playing time Saturday.
Like Winters, the 49ers have high hopes for Luter, whom they drafted in the fifth round last year. They think he can be one of their reserve cornerbacks this year and possibly take on a bigger role next season should Charvarius Ward or Deommodore Lenoir — or both? — leave via free agency.
Sunday will be Luter’s first preseason game. He was dealing with a knee issue last summer and was out with an ankle injury Saturday in Tennessee. He returned to practice this week, mostly lining up at left cornerback with the second-team defense.
The 49ers like what they see from Luter in practices. However, he got only 64 defensive snaps as a rookie last season, most of them in the low-stakes regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Rams backups. Game-day repetitions, even in the preseason, are valuable for him.
Joshua Dobbs delivered this highlight-reel touchdown run in the 49ers’ preseason opener in Tennessee. (Steve Roberts / USA Today)
Can Joshua Dobbs challenge status quo at QB?
This has been the time of year the 49ers make decisions about the quarterback pecking order.
It was around this time two years ago that then-rookie Brock Purdy leapfrogged veteran Nate Sudfeld. Sam Darnold, meanwhile, put some distance between himself and Trey Lance at this point last year.
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In that way, it’ll be interesting to see when Joshua Dobbs enters the game and how many snaps he gets against the Saints. The 49ers have said that Dobbs and Brandon Allen are competing for the No. 2 role, but Allen clearly has been treated more like the No. 2 — getting repetitions before Dobbs in practices and the first preseason game — so far this summer.
Could the 49ers ultimately cut Dobbs and place him on the practice squad as their No. 3 quarterback later this month? That seemed to grow even more risky this week when the Minnesota Vikings, for whom Dobbs started four games last season, lost first-round pick J.J. McCarthy for the season due to a knee injury.
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The offensive line is still being sorted out
All eyes again will be on rookie guard Dominick Puni, who in his first preseason game looked a lot like he has in practice. Which is to say, he was poised and powerful and not at all out of place.
Another outing like that and Puni will become the front-runner in the competition to start at right guard in Week 1. After all, his competition for the spot, Spencer Burford (hand) and Jon Feliciano (knee), haven’t practiced much this summer.
And Puni’s not the only offensive lineman to watch. Veteran tackles Brandon Parker and Chris Hubbard are competing for perhaps one spot on the 53-man roster. Hubbard started the preseason opener at left tackle (because Jaylon Moore was sick that day) while Parker relieved right tackle Colton McKivitz following the first series. Offensive line coach Chris Forrester said both are playing positions that aren’t their strengths — Hubbard is a little better at right tackle, Parker is more comfortable on the left side — to make them more well-rounded and thus better swing-tackle candidates.
The 49ers also have to decide who will back up Jake Brendel at center this season. Foerster said Nick Zakelj, who started last week’s game at center, probably has the edge over Ben Bartch at the moment.
“If you looked at them and said, ‘What’s Zakelj’s strength and what’s Bartch’s,’ I think Zakelj’s probably playing a little bit better at center and Bartch is playing guard better,” Foerster said. “That’s why I give (Zakelj) the edge right now, but they’re both right there.”
(Top photo of Darrell Luter Jr.: Michael Zagaris / San Francisco 49ers / Getty Images)
