The 49ers had their first padded practice of training camp on Monday
The San Francisco 49ers wrapped up Day 5 of training camp on Monday, which was their first padded practice of the session.
It was a ramp-up day for the 49ers, with a few players sitting out of team drills, while the 49ers didn’t have any 1-on-1s either.
Here are three quick takeaways from Day 5 of the 49ers training camp.
Interception frenzy
It was another defense-dominated day for the 49ers, as pads didn’t change too much when it came to the offense’s success.
San Francisco had their first red zone session of training camp, but it wasn’t a great period for Brock Purdy and the offense.
Purdy threw an early interception intended for Logan Thomas with Isaac Yiadom in coverage. The ball was on-target and seemed catchable for the tight end, but Thomas couldn’t make a play and linebacker Fred Warner intercepted the ball on a tip drill in the red zone.
Later, Purdy threw an interception to Deommodore Lenoir, who made a hell of a play on the ball. The quarterback, facing pressure from all angles, was intending a deep crosser for tight end Brayden Willis, who was working his way to the right corner, but the ball seem slightly wide, although potentially catchable had Willis laid out for the pass.
Ultimately, Lenoir found his way to the ball, beating Willis to the catch point and making a phenomenal diving catch for the pick for the play of the day.
The third interception was the ugliest though, as Purdy faced pressure and looked to fire a ball in to Deebo Samuel in the red zone. The pass was intercepted, however, by George Odum, who shot in to take away the ball from Samuel, cementing a strong day for the defense.
The throw was Purdy’s worst, as he forced the ball into a tight window rather than killing the play, with the pressure playing a factor up the middle from defensive tackle Javon Hargrave.
It wasn’t the sharpest day for the 49ers starter, who was playing behind an offensive line that didn’t have Jake Brendel, Jon Feliciano, Spencer Burford, and Trent Williams, with the results being as expected.
Red zone struggles
As I mentioned above, the 49ers had their first red zone session of training camp on Monday, which was the highlight of the day, given that there weren’t any 1-on-1 drills.
The first red zone session of the day began with Purdy’s first interception, and there wasn’t much improvement from there.
Purdy had incompletions to Chris Conley and Jauan Jennings to follow that throw, with the first pass being too high in traffic, while the latter was a 50-50 ball to the slot receiver, which was broken up by second-round pick Renardo Green, who worked with the top defense in the slot on the rep.
The offensive line struggled as well, as Aaron Banks and Nick Zakelj, who were at left guard and center to begin the red zone period, were beaten badly on that last rep, making it difficult for Purdy to go through his progressions.
On his final throw of the first session, Purdy was sacked, but did hit Deebo Samuel with a touch pass in the end zone after continuing the play.
Josh Dobbs had the best success of the first period, as he hit Jauan Jennings for a short touchdown in a tight window for the lone score over the first three rotations on offense.
But, all three quarterbacks had incompletions as the defense dominated the initial period.
To begin the second red zone session, Purdy threw his third interception of the day, which was a poor decision as he faced pressure from Javon Hargrave, who beat Aaron Banks on the play.
The offense did get some success after that, with Elijah Mitchell running hard for a solid gain and Purdy finding Trent Taylor on a slant for a touchdown on consecutive plays.
The second-team offense, spearheaded by Brandon Allen, didn’t find much success though once again, while Josh Dobbs had another touchdown pass with the No. 3 offense, finding Trent Taylor for a touchdown.
So far, the defense is looking sharp, while the offense is still picking up the pieces down a few players.
Defensive Line dominates
The defensive line was the story of the day for the 49ers as pads came on, providing a better judge of trench play.
The front four almost constantly got pressure on the quarterback, regardless of which team was on the field, making it difficult for the signal-callers to get any momentum on the day.
Javon Hargrave was in the backfield on several occasions when running with the top defense, while the group overall attacked both the edges and the interior.
After a solid start from the offense during the run install, the defense locked down in all of the red zone periods, as well as the later team periods, and that came without Nick Bosa or Charvarius Ward on the field.
While the offensive line’s play can be questionable thus far, it’s been a good sign for the defensive front with several new pieces.
Now, the question is: can they sustain in the run game?
Stay tuned for my full notes and observations of Day 5 coming later!