On Monday, the San Francisco 49ers held their 10th of 13 training camp practices at the SAP Performance Facility in Santa Clara, which started at 10:15 a.m.
Houston Astros third base coach Gary Pettis observed practice. He is the father of 49ers rookie wide receiver Dante Pettis and is in town to play the Giants.
Below are some notes from Monday's outing.
Garoppolo-to-Goodwin Connection
Monday's practice ended with the Jimmy Garoppolo to Marquise Goodwin connection, once again, on full display. The quarterback tossed a beautiful 40-yard touchdown pass to his receiver who was battling tight coverage from second-year starting cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon.
It's becoming routine to report on the Garoppolo-to-Goodwin connection, which should bode well for the 49ers offense this season.
Easing Back In
Wide receiver Trent Taylor continues to be eased back into practices. He is coming off of offseason back surgery.
Defensive back Jimmie Ward received some practice reps at outside cornerback with Richard Sherman (hamstring) off this week.
Defensive end Jeremiah Attaochu (groin) returned to practice and even forced a fumble.
Quarterbacks
Head coach Kyle Shanahan may not think highly of stat tracking during practices, but fans still love to know what they are. Garoppolo was unofficially 13-of-17 passing during team drills, according to Chris Biderman of Niners Wire.
Garoppolo's completions didn't just go to his receivers. Nick Wagoner of ESPN reports that the quarterback was once again consistent in finding his tight ends and running backs.
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends
Biderman feels that the chemistry between Garoppolo and Pierre Garçon is improving. The two are "starting to click," he reports.
"In the last two practices, including Monday's session, Garçon looked very much like the player that was on pace for 1,000 yards last season – even before the team traded for Garoppolo," writes Biderman. "He caught a pass between three defenders in the middle of the field for 15 yards, and later made back-to-back catches on a slant to the left and short route to the right."
Garoppolo also found Garçon for a touchdown during one-on-one red-zone drills as the receiver went against Witherspoon.
Pettis evaded defenders for a score after hauling in a pass from quarterback C.J. Beathard during team drills.
Tight end Garrett Celek hauled in a deep pass along the left sideline from Beathard.
Running Backs
"Perhaps best individual performer of (the) day was RB Raheem Mostert," wrote Wagoner via Twitter. "Mostert has (a) good shot at (a) roster spot based on special teams acumen, but he got some work with (the) first-team offense and fared well. His best play came on a diving catch toward the sideline from Garoppolo [while going against] Witherspoon."
Jerick McKinnon, who is slated to be the 49ers' featured back, fumbled the football during team drills.
Offensive Line
Mike Person and Erik Magnuson received some work at center with Weston Richburg getting the day off to rest. When one was playing at center, the other was at right guard.
Defensive Line
"Solomon Thomas had a strong day on Monday," reports Joe Fann of 49ers.com. "Showed well in 1-on-1s, he stuffed a run on 3rd-and-short, and he had a sack."
Attaochu stripped the football out of wide receiver Steven Dundar's hands following a reception.
Defensive Backs
Rookie D.J. Reed received reps at the nickel cornerback position with K'Waun Williams (low ankle sprain) out this week.
"Seemed to hold up well," reports Biderman via Twitter. "He'll likely get plenty of reps Thursday in the exhibition opener."
Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said after practice that the coaching staff is asking a lot of Reed, who is learning how to play free safety and nickel in the NFL.
"He has taken this opportunity and absolutely run with it," Saleh said.
Notes
The 49ers' next full practice will be on Tuesday morning, which will be the last before Thursday's exhibition opener against the Dallas Cowboys.
