17 Aug 5 San Francisco 49ers to Watch vs the Minnesota Vikings
The San Francisco 49ers face the Minnesota Vikings in their second preseason game on Saturday evening! They kicked off the preseason with a win vs the Green Bay Packers at home last week. Let’s see how they follow that up this week on the road. Kyle Shanahan has previously said QB Trey Lance would only play in the first and third preseason games. I’ll be interested to see if he sticks to that or if we do end up seeing a couple of drives from the young signal-caller Saturday evening. I totally understand wanting to keep him out of harm’s way, however he is still extremely young and needs all of the snaps he can get.
Let’s assume Lance doesn’t play Saturday and take a look at 5 other 49ers to keep an eye on!
George Odom
One of the off-season acquisitions may be called upon early as starting FS Jimmie Ward is expected to be out for the first few weeks of the year with a hamstring injury. His replacement will be either Tarvarius Moore or George Odom (although we should never count out Dontae Johnson). Well, who will fill his spot? I think Odom gets the call, especially if he plays well for the remainder of the preseason. The former-Indianapolis Colt picked off Kirk Cousins in joint practices on Wednesday, and the 49ers need all the playmakers they can get in the secondary. On the other hand, Moore looked a step slow vs the Packers, and was burnt for a long TD throw to rookie Romeo Doubs. Perhaps he was still rusty coming back from injury, but he’ll need to show more in order to earn the starting gig while Ward is out.
Drake Jackson
The 49ers first pick in the 2022 NFL Draft immediately impressed vs the Packers. Jackson was all over the field and making life hell for QB Jordan Love up until he left early with what was later classified as a ‘shoulder stinger.‘ His physical abilities were on full display last week. Luckily, the USC product was able to return to practice on Monday and by all reports has been balling out vs the Vikings OL in joint practices. If you’ve listened to any of the recent episodes of The Red & Gold Standard Podcast (shameless plug), you’d know I’ve been raving about Jackson all off-season! I keep dreaming of him paired with Bosa on each end of the defensive line terrorizing opposing QBs. Let’s see what the rookie brings this week!
Spencer Burford
Maybe the 49ers were onto something when they gave rookie OL Spencer Burford the number 74. If you squinted just right and tilted your head to the correct angle, The UTSA product resembled the great Joe Staley at times vs the Packers! His physicality was immediately noticed as he beat up and tossed around Green Bay’s defensive linemen. To use his saying, he was definitely the BBQ and they were the mildew in this case. The offensive line was a huge question mark heading into this year after losing Laken Tomlinson and a few others in free agency. While there still might be some uncertainties, Burford has all but solidified his spot at RG with only one preseason game under his belt. I’m looking forward to more #BurfordBeatdowns this Saturday vs the Vikings.
Tyrion Davis-Price
I had originally listed RB Trey Sermon here, but he reportedly suffered an ankle injury this week in joint practices vs the Minnesota Vikings. So, the spotlight shifts to rookie RB Tyrion Davis-Price (TDP)! He finished with 36 yards on 10 carries last week vs the Packers, and dropped the only target that came his way. With that being said, Davis-Price actually looked pretty good and put himself in the middle of this crowded RB room. He currently looks to be behind Elijah Mitchell, Jeff Wilson Jr & Trey Sermon on the depth chart. However, a strong outing this week could up his ranking. Kyle Shanahan previously said how important it was to get a ‘guy that could play like Elijah [Mitchell]‘ and it appears he feels the team has that in TDP.
Samuel Womack
Here it is! I’m sure you were all expecting to see Samuel Womack on this list after his performance last week. The rookie CB snagged two interceptions from Jordan Love, including an impressive takeaway while rolling on the floor with Romeo Doubs. The 49ers were apparently so impressed by his outing they released veteran CB Darqueze Dennard, who had been mentoring Womack throughout camp, on Monday. The team let fellow veteran K’Waun Williams walk in free agency this off-season, and we were all wondering who they planned on filling his role. Well, it appears they have found their guy in Womack. I’ll be keeping an eye on #26 Saturday vs the Vikings!
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