SANTA CLARA — Midway through Tuesday’s 49ers practice, linebacker Dre Greenlaw started chirping from the sidelines. After seeing the offense drop another pass, he had to say something.
“They already in Vegas! They already on The Strip!,” Greenlaw joked.
The Niners don’t open up practice in Sin City until Thursday against the Raiders, but they looked out of sorts with six drops, including a couple by rookie tight end Cameron Latu, who admitted to being a bit overwhelmed with coach Kyle Shanahan’s playbook.
“The drops are on me,” Latu said. “It’s unacceptable at the end of the day. I gotta fix those and get on the Jugs (machine) every day and just catch every ball. Obviously, my mind’s spinning, but it’s unacceptable to drop any pass.”
Once again, the 49ers defense continued to dominate the offense, as Brock Purdy, Trey Lance, Sam Darnold and Brandon Allen were all shut out of the end zone. Rookie safety Ji’Ayir Brown turned in the highlight of the day, as he picked off Darnold deep down the left sideline after he tried to connect with receiver Ray-Ray McCloud on a rollout.
Is the Niners’ top-rated defense that good? Or is the offense still in a camp-long funk?
We’ll find out more later this week, as the 49ers are set to practice against the Raiders on Thursday and Friday before the preseason opener on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium. The Niners will get to go head-to-head with former quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who is now at the helm of the Raiders offense. Likewise, 49ers defensive end Clelin Ferrell will get to face his former teammates, as he spent the first four years of his career with the Raiders.
49ers defensive lineman Austin Bryant said he’s hoping to pick the brain of Las Vegas edge rusher Maxx Crosby during practice, if he’s willing.
“Guys are excited,” Bryant said. “Camp is long and it can become a grind. A little switch up in the schedule is good and I think guys are excited to go hit somebody that’s not their teammate, they see from sun-up to sun-down. It’s gonna be exciting, it’s gonna be a fun trip. We’re going to win and kick some ass.”
While there were no 11-on-11 touchdowns Tuesday, reporters in attendance was treated to some cool 1-on-1 battles between receivers and defensive backs. Wideout Brandon Aiyuk got the best of cornerback Mooney Ward on back-to-back reps, beating him down the right sideline on a go route and also hauling in a crossing route on tight coverage.
49ers depth chart49ers
Following practice, 49ers public relations released the first depth chart of camp. There weren’t any major surprises, but it’s worth noting that the No. 2 quarterback is listed as “Trey Lance OR Sam Darnold” following Purdy at No. 1.
Without Nick Bosa, who continued his contract holdout Tuesday, Drake Jackson is currently listed as the No. 1 left edge rusher while Ferrell is the top right defensive end. Oren Burks has assumed Azeez Al-Shaair’s role as starting strongside linebacker, while Deommodore Lenior is a starting cornerback and Isaiah Oliver is listed as the top nickelback.
