49ers training camp Day 5: Notes and observations

What happened during Day 5 of 49ers training camp on Monday?

The San Francisco 49ers concluded their fifth day of training camp on Monday, which was their first day of pads after four practices last week and an off day on Sunday.

While pads came on, it was still a lighter practice for the 49ers, who focused on the red zone, but didn’t have any 1-on-1s, with things wrapping up after an hour and 45 minutes.

If you missed it, here are my three quick takeaways from what I saw on Day 5 of training camp.

Now, let’s get into my notes and observations of what unfolded on Monday.

Player days off

While the 49ers had Sunday off, there were still several players who did not participate in some portion of Monday’s practice.

Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle were the key players missing on offense, although the 49ers were without Jake Brendel, Jon Feliciano, and Spencer Burford again along the offensive line.

Brendel’s seemed to be a rest day, while Feliciano is dealing with a knee issue and Burford has a broken hand, which will sideline him for a few weeks.

With McCaffrey out, Jordan Mason took the first reps at running back, but he and Elijah Mitchell were constantly rotating throughout the day.

At tight end, the 49ers used a plethora of players once again, while a few stood out with some notable catches.

Defensively, Nick Bosa had a rest day, while Charvarius Ward did not participate in team drills after working through the walkthrough portion of practice.

With Ward out of team drills, rookie cornerback Renardo Green played extensively with the top defense, seeing some action on the outside initially, before mainly moving into the slot.

At defensive end, it was the duo of Leonard Floyd and Yetur Gross-Matos once again, while Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins worked on the inside.

RB changes

For the first time that I saw this training camp, Jordan Mason took the first carry at running back with Christian McCaffrey not practicing on Monday.

Now, as I mentioned, it was a constant rotation with Elijah Mitchell alongside the top offense, but the change comes with some standing, as head coach Kyle Shanahan praised Mason for his style of running, pointing out the difference between him and the veteran Mitchell at the moment.

Mason continues to run with an unparalleled style of aggression, while his burst stands out as well, leading him to be the top choice for the RB2 role at the moment.

San Francisco should rely on their backup running backs more often this season, which increases the importance of both Mitchell and Mason, but it’s notable that there could be a shift in opportunity from what we’ve seen over the past two seasons.

Mason also continues to catch the ball well out of the backfield, having yet to drop a pass in team drills or cough up the football.

Patrick Taylor got most of the No. 3 reps at running back, with Cody Schrader working in there as well.

Towards the end of the day, I was impressed by a Schrader run up the middle in the red zone where the back powered through and ran hard.

Overall, the running back room has been good thus far, with the depth rolling as advertised behind McCaffrey.

Standout plays

With an interception frenzy on Monday, there were a number of standout plays on the day for the 49ers.

Now, I already broke down the three picks that Brock Purdy threw in my takeaways of the day, but the defense stood out in more ways than one on a dominant day, while the offense had a few plays of their own.

One of better offensive plays came early on when Josh Dobbs layered in a great throw over a defender to tight end Mason Pline on the sidelines for a good gain of over 15 yards.

He later threw a touchdown to Jauan Jennings in the red zone on a fairly tight window ball that required him to get the throw off quick to the outside.

Deebo Samuel had the play of the day offensively with an end around that was well-timed for the 49ers offense, gaining a chunk of yards in open space before Ji’Ayir Brown dished out a big hit on the sidelines. Samuel later caught a pass in traffic from Josh Dobbs, holding on to the ball while being hit by Tayler Hawkins on the slant.

Defensively, though, is where much of the action came.

Apart from the three interceptions, Renardo Green had a nice battle with Jauan Jennings in the red zone, breaking up a pass to save a touchdown.

Defensive end Sam Okuayinonu arguably had the play of the day, essentially bulldozing backup left tackle Brandon Parker on a pass-rush rep to get to the backfield and disrupt the play.

Javon Hargrave had multiple pressures that could’ve been sacks, working primarily against Aaron Banks on the interior.

Overall, it was a good day for the defense, with a number of big plays to go around across all three teams.

Deep ball issues

One of the early struggles for the offense has been the lack of a deep ball thus far in training camp.

Throughout the first few days, quarterbacks and receivers have not been on the same page going deep, with a number of overthrows coming on tightly contested passes.

One of the problems? A lack of separation from wideouts and very sticky coverage from the corners and safeties defending on the plays, leading to a small window to complete such passes.

That’s where the value of Brandon Aiyuk comes in, as his separation ability was key both in training camp and during the season last year. Without a true deep threat, the 49ers have struggled to open up their passing game thus far, and that was evident on Monday.

There were a number of passes too high in the red zone and in normal team drill sessions, as Brock Purdy overthrew Deebo Samuel on a go-route deep with Isaac Yiadom and Ji’Ayir Brown in coverage. Samuel has been the recipient of a number of these missed deep passes.

Later, Brandon Allen missed a pass high intended for Jake Tonges as well.

This isn’t as big of a concern in training camp, as the 49ers are knocking the rust off. But, given how explosive their offense was last year, it’s important to get back on the right track with the deep ball sooner than later, which likely means needing Brandon Aiyuk back as soon as possible.

QB2

Last week, the No. 2 quarterback battle was evident between Brandon Allen and Josh Dobbs, who split reps between the second and third-team offense.

Allen looked much sharper on Thursday, while Dobbs started off really shaky. Then, both quarterbacks had their ups and downs on Friday’s practice, which was ugly for the offense as a whole.

On Monday, it was Dobbs who got the upper hand as he started to work his way back up. He was the lone quarterback to find success in the red zone, recording two touchdown passes, while completing a majority of his passes.

There was still an errant throw, but Dobbs is making it competitive after a slow first week, and his ability to extend plays hasn’t been seen yet.

This quarterback competition could carry all the way through the preseason at the current rate, with both quarterbacks looking to find their footing.