Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to the forty nine Ers First and
Speaker 1: ten Podcast, ten minutes of the most up to date
Speaker 1: forty nine Ers news first thing in the morning. I'm
Speaker 1: your host Brian McDonald, and I'm with forty nine Ers
Speaker 1: team reporter Lindsay Plares, and together we're going to break
Speaker 1: down the forty nine Ers initial fifty three man roster
Speaker 1: for the twenty twenty four season, introducing you to your
Speaker 1: twenty twenty four guys and getting into the nitty gritty,
Speaker 1: going position by position.
Speaker 2: Lindsey, how you feeling pretty good?
Speaker 3: Wanted to start and preface this with this is the
Speaker 3: roster as we had the list Tuesday afternoon. By later
Speaker 3: today this could look a lot different, and likely will
Speaker 3: because there's usually corresponding roster moves, practice, squad announcements, all
Speaker 3: that coming.
Speaker 4: So keep that in mind as we're going through this list.
Speaker 2: Yes, stay tuned to forty nine ers dot com. We
Speaker 2: have all the information dropping immediately there. But let's dive
Speaker 2: into it.
Speaker 1: Let's go into quarterbacks, our quarterbacks for this year, your
Speaker 1: QB one Brock Party. Also Joshua Dobbs and Brandon Allen
Speaker 1: tell us about the decision to keep three on the
Speaker 1: roster this year.
Speaker 3: This is a decision the forty nine Ers have gone
Speaker 3: with now for three straight years, and given that the
Speaker 3: NFL has implemented the emergency quarterback role as of twenty
Speaker 3: twenty three, not surprising at all. And also I wouldn't
Speaker 3: put too much stock into the order in which we're
Speaker 3: saying these names behind Brock Purty, Neither Josh Dobbs or
Speaker 3: Brandon Allen have officially been named. San Francis goes backup QB.
Speaker 3: That decision is going to come from head coach Kyle Shanahan,
Speaker 3: and we have not heard about it yet. One thing
Speaker 3: to note, Josh Dobbs is a newcomer to this group.
Speaker 3: He has done a fair amount of jumping around the NFL.
Speaker 3: This is I believe, his fourth system in about a
Speaker 3: year's time. But he's really shown his athletic ability and
Speaker 3: his ability to pick up this very complicated offensive scheme
Speaker 3: in the opportunities that he saw in the preseason. For
Speaker 3: Brandon Allen, this is his second year with the forty
Speaker 3: nine ers and he's looking a lot more comfortable under
Speaker 3: center and in the system, and that's what we've heard
Speaker 3: from him throughout preseason and the training camp.
Speaker 1: Yeah, with that QB two spot still undefined. What have
Speaker 1: you seen from Josh Doabbs and Brandon Allen in the preseason?
Speaker 3: You know, I think both are very capable quarterbacks and
Speaker 3: also Shanahan did a really good job of splitting up
Speaker 3: the opportunities. Evenly, we saw a back and forth between
Speaker 3: Brandon Allen and Josh Doobbs over the course of the preseason,
Speaker 3: So more to come there. I'm assuming as we draw
Speaker 3: closer to the regular season, we're going to have that
Speaker 3: decision of who the forty nine ers backup QB is
Speaker 3: coming very soon, yeap.
Speaker 1: Very soon. Now staying in the offense, but moving on
Speaker 1: to our running backs and our one true full back hole.
Speaker 1: You check, they've got Christian McCaffrey, Jordan Mason, Patrick Taylor Junior,
Speaker 1: and Isaac Garndo. I want to highlight Christian McCaffrey heading
Speaker 1: into twenty twenty four. He's coming off his Offensive Player
Speaker 1: of the Year season. What are your expectations for him
Speaker 1: this year?
Speaker 3: I mean, I think you just want him to copy
Speaker 3: paste right, one of the most successful seasons in Christian
Speaker 3: McCaffrey's you know, NFL career, and I think he was
Speaker 3: the NFL's rushing yards leader, triple Crown winner, like you mentioned,
Speaker 3: Offensive Player of the Year. I mean, I don't think
Speaker 3: this is a stretch. Christian McCaffrey is the gold standard
Speaker 3: of running backs and you just want to see more
Speaker 3: of that. You know, over the course of training camp
Speaker 3: at the preseason, he was dealing with a calf strain.
Speaker 3: I think my understanding is if there was a regular
Speaker 3: season game today, he would dress for it and play
Speaker 3: play in it. But I think the forty nine ers
Speaker 3: want to be conservative and take care of you know,
Speaker 3: they're all pro running back. So we did see him
Speaker 3: beginning to rejoin practice and do some rehab on the sidelines.
Speaker 3: He hasn't practiced in a while, but that's always a
Speaker 3: sign that he's trending in the right direction. So faithful,
Speaker 3: I really wouldn't worry too much about him.
Speaker 1: Let's shine some light on the newcomers. The rookie Isaac
Speaker 1: Grendo and then the fourth year pro Patrick Taylor junior.
Speaker 2: How do you think they made this squad?
Speaker 3: Yeah, so I think the decision on both those guys
Speaker 3: not very surprising either. We saw in a roster move
Speaker 3: earlier on Tuesday that Elijah Mitchell, who was a rushing
Speaker 3: yards leader in twenty twenty one, was placed on season
Speaker 3: ending IR that made room for Patrick Taylor Junior and
Speaker 3: Isaac Grendo. And Isaac Grendo is a rookie, a fourth
Speaker 3: round pick that really had limited opportunities in the preseason
Speaker 3: because of a hamstring injury. He got one preseason outing
Speaker 3: and that was in that finale against the Raiders, and
Speaker 3: he shined both in the ground game and also special teams.
Speaker 3: I want to call attention to that ninety three yard
Speaker 3: dynamic kickoff return. He owns a little piece of NFL history,
Speaker 3: so definitely well deserving to that entire group.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that was a special play by a special player.
Speaker 1: Now, faithful, you're twenty twenty four wide receivers Deebo Samuel Senior,
Speaker 1: Ronnie Bell, Brandon Ayuk, Ricky Pearsal, Juwan Jennings, Chris Conley,
Speaker 1: and Jacob Cowing. The first round pick Ricky Piersaal making
Speaker 1: the fifty three man roster. We didn't get to see
Speaker 1: him much in the preseason. But what should we expect.
Speaker 2: With him rejoining in the twenty twenty four season.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, I think the expectation with any of
Speaker 3: San Francisco's draft picks, especially a first round draft pick,
Speaker 3: one that they haven't had in a while, is that
Speaker 3: he's going to be an immediate contributor on this team.
Speaker 3: I know that there's definitely a desire on Ricky Piersaal.
Speaker 4: To make those contributions.
Speaker 3: He's been dealing with kind of a lingering shoulder injury,
Speaker 3: so we'll see how the forty nine Ers begin to
Speaker 3: really ease him back into practice. He made his return
Speaker 3: on Monday. He was in a blue non contact jersey.
Speaker 3: So again, I think it's going to be a slow
Speaker 3: progression for him of just getting him back up to
Speaker 3: speed and full go as he still is working on
Speaker 3: that shoulder.
Speaker 1: And looking at this list of receivers, who does stand
Speaker 1: out to you this year?
Speaker 4: I mean who doesn't?
Speaker 2: Right?
Speaker 3: I think you know we're going to continue to see
Speaker 3: more really good things out of Juwan Jennings. I think
Speaker 3: he's continued to build. He had that contract extension in
Speaker 3: the off season. You know, a really great showing in
Speaker 3: Super Bowl fifty eight. Chris Conley has been a really
Speaker 3: reliable practice squad player for the forty nine ers that
Speaker 3: hit the elevation limit in twenty twenty three because he
Speaker 3: was such a team player that they had to, you know,
Speaker 3: activate him as injuries came about, and he's had a
Speaker 3: great camp. Jacob Cowing another fourth round pick for the
Speaker 3: forty nine ers that has been very successful in the preseason.
Speaker 3: He also only had two preseason outings because of also
Speaker 3: a hamstring injury, and the forty nine ers are looking
Speaker 3: to him as a possible option at the punt returner position.
Speaker 3: So really there's multiple ways that you could see Jacob Cowing.
Speaker 4: Contributing in twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1: All Right, moving on to ours tight ends, lindsay only
Speaker 1: two this year, George Kittle and Jake Tongjas. Tell me
Speaker 1: about that decision to keep only two. I want to
Speaker 1: know your immediate reaction when you saw two on the
Speaker 1: list this year.
Speaker 3: I wasn't expecting to only see two names on the list.
Speaker 4: Last year there were four.
Speaker 3: This room looks completely different outside of George Kittle. Right,
Speaker 3: he's your anchor, your veteran, your team captain. He's coming
Speaker 3: off a thousand plus yard season, had six touchdowns in
Speaker 3: twenty twenty three. Basically you want him to copy and
Speaker 3: paste his season as well. But a huge congratulations to
Speaker 3: Jake Toanjis.
Speaker 4: He's a guy that spent.
Speaker 3: Last year twenty twenty three on the practice squad, and
Speaker 3: for all of our Bay Area people, this is somebody
Speaker 3: that you can easily root for. He is a cal
Speaker 3: alum and also grew up in Los Gatos, so he's
Speaker 3: a local player.
Speaker 4: So huge, huge congratulations.
Speaker 1: All right, Next is the forty nine ers O line. Faithful,
Speaker 1: You've got John Feliciano, Nick Zekel, Jake Brundle, Aaron Banks,
Speaker 1: Colton mckivitz, Spencer Burford, Jalen Moore, and Dominic Pooney.
Speaker 2: Walk us through the lineup here.
Speaker 1: If Week ones game, Monday Night Football was tomorrow, what
Speaker 1: would that starting line look like?
Speaker 3: Yeah, so I think injuries definitely played a role in
Speaker 3: the group. On the offensive line, we had Aaron Banks,
Speaker 3: who is typically the forty nine ers starting left guard.
Speaker 3: He suffered a broken pinky during training camp. So yeah,
Speaker 3: if if the season were to start today, with all
Speaker 3: the information I've got, we would start with left tackle
Speaker 3: Jalen Moore. Then we would have Nick Zikel at left guard,
Speaker 3: Jake Brendle at center, then at right guard, Dominic Pooney,
Speaker 3: and then at right tackle.
Speaker 4: We would also have Colton mckibbitts.
Speaker 3: That's the starting lineup we saw in the third preseason game. Again,
Speaker 3: I am not Kyle Shanahan. That lineup could look totally
Speaker 3: different based on information that I don't know, but if
Speaker 3: we're going off of the lineup that we saw against
Speaker 3: the Raiders, it would be those five.
Speaker 1: And how good was Dominic Pooney during the preseason? Tell
Speaker 1: us just how amazing he was during those first three
Speaker 1: preseason games.
Speaker 3: Yeah, he was a preseason standout for sure. I think
Speaker 3: one of the biggest contributors from that twenty twenty four
Speaker 3: draft class. Started at right guard in all three games,
Speaker 3: did not give up a single sack. So again, huge
Speaker 3: congratulations to a rookie that's definitely making a name for
Speaker 3: himself early.
Speaker 1: Yeah, this is a special day for a lot of
Speaker 1: the rookies and newcombers to the team this year. But
Speaker 1: moving on to defense, we'll start upfront at the D line.
Speaker 1: We've got Robert Bield, Junior, Leonard Floyd, Kevin Given, sam Okayanu,
Speaker 1: Jordan Elliott, You, Tor Gross Matos, Nick Bosa, Javon Hargrave,
Speaker 1: and Malik Collins. Now free agency was a big time
Speaker 1: for the D line during the forty nine ers off season.
Speaker 1: Tell me just how much the Niners invested upfront in
Speaker 1: that D line.
Speaker 3: You know, I think D line is where the forty
Speaker 3: nine ers focused their efforts for that very first wave
Speaker 3: of free agency. We saw them at Leonard Floyd, Malik Collins,
Speaker 3: Jordan Elliott, you, Tor Gross Matos.
Speaker 4: This was a really big point.
Speaker 3: Of emphasis for the forty nine ers who were looking
Speaker 3: to up their run defense in this coming season. I
Speaker 3: think there's high expectations for Leonard Floyd as being the
Speaker 3: bookend for Nick Bosa, and he has just a great
Speaker 3: history of being available. This guy has not missed a
Speaker 3: regular season game in about six seasons.
Speaker 4: Leave The streak is one hundred and eight games.
Speaker 3: So if you're looking somebody that's going to be ready
Speaker 3: to contribute, it's Leonard Floyd, proven better and I think
Speaker 3: he's averaging just under ten sacks a season for the
Speaker 3: last four years.
Speaker 2: Oh wow.
Speaker 1: Okay, So we've got the most change to this group
Speaker 1: I think from twenty twenty three into twenty twenty four,
Speaker 1: and probably the longest list.
Speaker 2: Out of all the position groups.
Speaker 1: So how important is it to keep that D line
Speaker 1: fresh throughout the season?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 3: You know, I think that is a really important part
Speaker 3: of how the forty nine ers play their D line.
Speaker 3: They like to rotate players in and out to make
Speaker 3: sure that everyone's fresh, not just throughout the season, but
Speaker 3: in game. So you're very much going to see your
Speaker 3: starting lineup get refresh mid game, make sure everyone stays,
Speaker 3: you know, in good health for the duration of that
Speaker 3: football game. So you're gonna see all nine of these
Speaker 3: players contribute all right.
Speaker 1: Now, moving on to our linebackers, We've got Curtis Robinson,
Speaker 1: Demitrius Flannigan, Fouls Tatum Bethune, d Winters, Fred Warner, and
Speaker 1: Devondre Campbell's senior Fred Warner headlines this group.
Speaker 2: Tell me about his.
Speaker 1: Leadership and now how he's guided this group throughout training camp.
Speaker 2: In the preseason. Now looking forward to twenty twenty four.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so Fred Warner is someone that we actually didn't
Speaker 3: see suit up a ton in the preseason, but like
Speaker 3: you mentioned, he is very much the leader of the
Speaker 3: linebacker group and also.
Speaker 4: I would say quarterback of the defense. Right he is
Speaker 4: the one giving pregame speeches. He gets everyone fired up.
Speaker 3: And you've heard a number of these players that are
Speaker 3: in this linebacker group that Fred Warner, Drake Greenlaw as
Speaker 3: well are the gold standard for linebackers, right. They want
Speaker 3: to model their play, their physicality after someone like Fred Warner,
Speaker 3: who is a unanimous All Pro linebacker, one of only
Speaker 3: three players in the NFL that.
Speaker 4: Earned that unanimous title.
Speaker 3: So again, just someone that is a great person to
Speaker 3: lead the room and really embraces that role.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and with the linebackers, we've got a mix of veterans.
Speaker 1: We got the leader, Fred Warner, some rookies in here,
Speaker 1: and then also some free agent additions. So what do
Speaker 1: those newcomers bring to this group, like Devondre Campbell, senior
Speaker 1: like Tatum Bethune.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think they just bring fresh energy. Devondre Campbell
Speaker 3: is a veteran, he was an All Pro in twenty
Speaker 3: twenty one. He comes over to the Bay from the
Speaker 3: Green Bay Packers. He brings a lot of experience with him.
Speaker 3: I also wanted to highlight Curtis Robinson, who has been
Speaker 3: a really reliable practice squad player for the forty nine
Speaker 3: ers in the past. He makes his debut to the
Speaker 3: fifty three man roster. Tatum Bethune really big contributor in
Speaker 3: the preseason, a seventh round pick for the forty nine
Speaker 3: ers and he's making this roster and from what I
Speaker 3: was looking at the defensive stats, he actually led the
Speaker 3: forty nine ers in preseason tackles. So another huge congratulations
Speaker 3: to another member of that twenty twenty four draft class.
Speaker 1: Yeah, something about those forty nine ers late round pick. Yeah,
Speaker 1: always making waves all right. Now, moving on to the cornerbacks,
Speaker 1: We've got Charvarius Ward, Ambry Thomas, Isaac Yadam Derell Luder,
Speaker 1: Junior Ronaldo Green, and our d defensive.
Speaker 2: Bag deometer Leonor.
Speaker 1: Now with Nick Sorenson coming in and leading the whole defense,
Speaker 1: he's got a special eye on the cornerbacks and defensive backs.
Speaker 1: What do you think his goal is with this group
Speaker 1: heading into twenty twenty four?
Speaker 3: You know, I think one of the things that this
Speaker 3: group in general, because Nick Sorenson, former passing game coordinator,
Speaker 3: defensive passing game coordinator for the forty nine ers, I
Speaker 3: think all of these players are super familiar with him.
Speaker 3: Part of the reason that he was selected as the
Speaker 3: new defensive coordinator is because of that familiarity and also
Speaker 3: the ability to tie the back end of the defense
Speaker 3: to the defensive front. He brings a wealth of knowledge
Speaker 3: with him, but I think he just wants this defensive
Speaker 3: back group, this cornerbacks group, to get after the ball.
Speaker 4: He wants takeaways.
Speaker 3: That's something that we have seen him and several other
Speaker 3: coaches on the defensive side of the ball preach, and
Speaker 3: the forty nine ers are very good at it.
Speaker 1: So, yeah, you think that's been in Ronaldo Green's ear
Speaker 1: throughout training camp in the preseason and maybe why he
Speaker 1: made this.
Speaker 3: Absolutely, I think for all of these cornerbacks, we've seen
Speaker 3: them pick up those preseason turnovers and then also those
Speaker 3: interceptions during training camp practices. So definitely a good energy
Speaker 3: with this group and we've seen it all throughout camp.
Speaker 2: Amazing.
Speaker 1: Now it's staying in the defensive backfield, but moving on
Speaker 1: to the safeties, we've got JayR. Brown, Tealanno Hufunga, George
Speaker 1: Odom and Malick Mustafa. Any of the latest updates on
Speaker 1: Talaho Hufunga and what his injury status has been like.
Speaker 3: Yeah, So Talao Hufunga is working back from an ACL
Speaker 3: injury he suffered in Week eleven of the twenty twenty
Speaker 3: three season. He's definitely trending in the right direction. The
Speaker 3: latest update we got is that he's been medically cleared
Speaker 3: to take the next steps in the process. The forty
Speaker 3: nine Ers are definitely being conservative and smart with him.
Speaker 4: He's been allowed to.
Speaker 3: Be eased into practices, but hasn't made that return just yet,
Speaker 3: so we'll hear more from head coach Kyle Shanahan what
Speaker 3: the plan is for him. Either way, we've seen Jay R.
Speaker 3: Brown really step up in his his absence. He's a
Speaker 3: second year player that is definitely looking to take on a.
Speaker 4: Bigger role in twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1: Now, what are some storylines that jump out to you
Speaker 1: when you look at this list of safeties?
Speaker 4: Oh, Man, I don't know.
Speaker 3: I mean, you've got a physical tackler and Malik Mustafa.
Speaker 3: We've seen that energy from him all of preseason, all
Speaker 3: of training camp. I think George Odom is somebody definitely
Speaker 3: to watch out for. He has really made a name
Speaker 3: for himself on the forty nine Ers as a special
Speaker 3: teams ace, but he's also been working in tandem with JayR.
Speaker 3: Brown all preseason, all of training camp with that starting defense,
Speaker 3: So he's a player to keep an eye out on
Speaker 3: all right.
Speaker 1: Finally, last, but not least, our specialists You've got your
Speaker 1: punter Mitch Wishnowski, your kicker Jake Moody, and your long
Speaker 1: snappers Haber Pepper, mister reliables of the forty nine ers.
Speaker 1: Tell us about Moody and entering his sophomore season.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, I think Jake Moody you're going to
Speaker 3: just continue to see him become more comfortable in his role.
Speaker 4: This is really just specialist trio back together.
Speaker 3: Really no surprises here, just wanting more of what Jake
Speaker 3: Moody gave us in his rookie season. He made sixty
Speaker 3: of sixty one extra point attempts and twenty one of
Speaker 3: twenty five field goal attempts in the twenty twenty three
Speaker 3: regular season. Mitch Weshnowski reliable, Tabor Pepper super reliable. So
Speaker 3: we are just looking for more good things from our
Speaker 3: specialist trio.
Speaker 1: All right, We've got three quarterbacks, five running backs, seven
Speaker 1: wide receivers, two tight ends, eight offensive linemen, nine defensive linemen,
Speaker 1: six linebackers, six cornerbacks for safeties, three specialists. That makes
Speaker 1: fifty three men on the initial fifty three man roster. Faithful,
Speaker 1: thank you so much for tuning in today, Lindsey. Thanks
Speaker 1: for joining me and breaking down this roster. But subscribe
Speaker 1: to First and ten for more forty nine ers updates
Speaker 1: and state teams. Yeah.