The San Francisco 49ers continued training camp on Thursday, marking their second practice of the month.
RELATED: 49ers Training Camp Day 2 Breakdown: Defense
As it was the second day of training camp, pads weren't on. They're likely to come on during Monday's practice, however; the exact date is unknown currently.
The 49ers' offensive starters remained the same as yesterday, with Jake Brendel starting as the center over Daniel Brunskill, although the two switched off with the 1st-team.
Offense
Quarterbacks
After looking good in his first training camp action on Wednesday while completing 9/11 passes during the scrimmage portion of the day, Lance struggled a little more on his second day, completing just 6/14 passes during the two scrimmages of the day.
Today was a much different gameplan for the 49ers' offense as the quarterbacks tested the defense much more, with a mixture of short/intermediate passes and deep passes.
While the initial numbers may tell that Lance was inaccurate, the young quarterback had three incompletions on well-placed balls, however; the defensive backs on the plays were able to force incompletions).
Lance did throw an interception on perhaps his worst throw of the day, missing receiver Brandon Aiyuk and throwing a dart straight to Jimmie Ward instead.
Additionally, Lance made some nice plays with his legs, scrambling for a 30-yard gain after rolling out of the pocket and avoiding the defense, while also making throws on the run as well, including a 20-yard cross-body throw to Brandon Aiyuk.
Nate Sudfeld had another good day as the backup quarterback, completing 9/11 passes with an interception, and making an array of different throws from all distances of the field.
Sudfeld's two biggest throws were a 30-yard pass to receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who made a contested catch over safety George Odum in the air, and a 23-yard pass to tight end Jordan Matthews near the right sideline.
Sudfeld's interception came off a contested pass intended for Danny Gray, which was batted into the air before undrafted linebacker Segun Olubi caught the ball.
Brock Purdy ended the day completing 6/8 passes with a touchdown, however; he did throw two interceptions where his arm strength, or lack of it, was somewhat noticeable.
Purdy's pocket mobility, however, was good on certain plays, as he moved through a collapsed pocket to complete some checkdown throws.
Purdy's touchdown came on a 45-yard pass to Danny Gray, who torched the third-team defense, however; the ball was underthrown, yet Gray still came out ahead. Purdy's second-best throw came on a 20-yard completion to Jauan Jennings near the sideline.
Purdy's first interception was the first throw of the day, when backup cornerback Ka'Darr Hollman intercepted a ball near the sideline, making a speedy close to the football while the ball hung in the air for a while. Purdy's second interception was a cross-field pass intended for Marcus Johnson, who was initially open, however; the ball was in the air for a while, allowing undrafted free agent safety Tayler Hawkins to close in on and pick the ball off.
Running Backs
I didn't focus heavily on the running backs during individual and team drills, but a few of them were featured during the two scrimmage sessions.
Running backs Tyrion Davis-Price, JaMycal Hasty, Trey Sermon, and Jordan Mason each caught a pass on Thursday, while also seeing some running back reps during scrimmage.
So, far it appears that Davis-Price and Sermon are getting a majority of the backup reps, and that battle will certainly be interesting when pads come on next week.
Mason's one catch was the best of the day from a running back, hauling in an eight-yard catch from a comeback route, while showing his athleticism, despite his big-bodied build, after the catch.
Another observation: Jeff Wilson Jr. appears slower with less burst than the rest of the running back group. It's only two days in, but he's not having a strong camp showing so far, making Mason a potential 53-man roster candidate.
Wide Receivers
Top receiver Brandon Aiyuk had seven targets on Thursday, hauling in three passes, including a nice, acrobatic sideline 30-yard catch with Darqueze Dennard in coverage.
Aiyuk didn't see much success against top cornerbacks Charvarius Ward and Emmanuel Moseley, but once again fared well against the nickel corners and backups.
Jauan Jennings caught three passes on five targets, with one of the incompletions being an inaccurate pass by Lance. He's seen action on the outside and in the slot, and continues to see significant volume.
The receivers saw much more action on Thursday as the quarterbacks stretched the field more, as opposed to Wednesday, when tight ends and running backs were featured more.
Tight Ends
One of Trey Lance's best passes went to tight end George Kittle, who took a 20-yard pass down the field 20 yards for a 40+ yard gain.
After the first scrimmage session of the day, Kittle and fullback Kyle Juszczyk was seen working on the side with quarterbacks Trey Lance and Nate Sudfeld, potentially building that connection ahead of the 2022 NFL season.
Wide-receiver-turned-tight-end Jordan Matthews continues to raise eyes, catching a 23-yard pass near the sideline from Nate Sudfeld on a nicely run route.
The only other tight end to see action on Thursday was Tanner Hudson, who caught the last pass of the day, which was a 4-yarder from Nate Sudfeld on a play-action rollout.
Offensive Line
Veteran center Jake Brendel continues to start at center, although him and Daniel Brunskill are battling out at center, with both seeing a considerable amount of reps with the first-team offense.
Spencer Burford, the team's fourth-round pick this season, took all of the first-team reps at right guard once again, while Jaylon Moore took the first-team reps at right tackle with McGlinchey not practicing during scrimmages.
The offensive line looked overwhelmed on Thursday, with nearly every player allowing a pressure, especially on the 2nd and 3rd-team offenses.
With a training camp battle almost certainly taking place, it's considerable to note that 3rd-string right tackle Justin Skule had a rough performance on Thursday, diminishing his chances to potentially crack the 53-man roster.
It'll be interesting to see if Moore or Brunskill begin taking some reps at guard, however; Burford continues to be the main player at the position.
- Rohan Chakravarthi
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Written by:Writer/Reporter for 49ers Webzone
