PODCAST: Evaluating the Depth of 49ers Position Groups

Analyze every unit on the roster to uncover hidden vulnerabilities, identify essential breakout candidates, and determine if San Francisco's top-heavy depth can withstand a grueling championship run.

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Video Transcript

I've been waiting a long time to say this.

It is a new episode of the Sprint Right Option podcast.

I'm Andrew Pasquini, joined as always by Jason Aponte.

And you know, it's, it's been a long summer already.

It's June 29th.

what we decided no better time to start talking 49ers football after the Giants suck and the Yankees get swept by the Red Sox.

Oh.

No better time to just forget about baseball.

We're here to talk San Francisco 49ers with Jason Aponte.

I wanna start, how are you doing?

It's, it's, it's been a few weeks since we've last chatted.

It's really good to see you, Andrew.

And honestly, this, this dead time in between what's going on with football and before football starts, it's, it's an important time for people to just focus on themselves.

So what I've been doing, I've been going on my cinema journey, my, my, you know, catching up on all these shows because once it's go time, it's, it's full go, right?

Like, and, and there's no time for anything else.

So, you know, being able to, to take in such great movies as Obsession and, and The Backrooms and, and watching, Widow's Bay, and now I'm on Cape Fear.

And, and honestly, the one movie that really has put me in a headlock that I had already seen before but I watched again last night and I started to realize that, you know what, this is actually one of my favorite movies, is the Pharrell Lego documentary, which is incredible.

Okay.

And anybody, and anybody who has a chance to check it out, it is on Peacock.

This isn't an ad, although, you know, the cock should sponsor us.

it, it's, it's a great movie for anybody, and, and of all ages.

It's not The Lego Movie.

It's, it's literally a documentary that is done in Lego about Pharrell Williams.

It's incredible.

Tyler's in it as well, too.

I love that.

Every single rapper that he's, every single rapper that he's worked with, is in it.

So it, it's just a, it's genuinely a great movie.

You and I have spent our summer a little differently.

You're using th- this time to catch up on, on movies and TV shows.

I've just locked myself in my closet and I've just been posting Instagram videos, trying to get my current employer to release me so I can go to my new employer.

It, it, it's been tough.

It's been tough.

People, people been saying a lot of mean things about me, but, like, I, you know, it is what it is, right?

no, but for real.

I, dude, if we're, if we're talking TV show, man, House of the Dragon all the way back.

House of the Dragon all the way back.

Last two episodes- Oh have been bangers.

but yeah, man, I've just, I've been, I've been, you know, just doing, doing me things.

And, and we're at that point, Jason.

We kinda talked about it last week over text message.

The season's sneaking up on us, right?

Yep.

And it, it, it's, it's, it's getting here faster than you, you think because we're a couple weeks away from training camp, and when we get to training camp, we're a couple weeks away from pre-season.

And then when we get to pre-season, we're a couple weeks away from the regular season starting.

So it, it's, it's gonna be those, the thing where the next thing we know, the Niners are gonna be in Australia playing football.

So it, it, it's really getting to that nitty gritty of the off-season where it's like, hey, football's right around the corner, and I, I'm really looking forward to it.

Yeah, 100%.

And it, it's, it happens fast, but also it's just this dead time right now where, you know- Yeah even, even the, the Niners Nation content has kind of been dialed back as well, too.

Yep.

And, you know, and honestly, I have to say that I'm kind of glad that I have the Vikings and the Saints to talk about as well, too, because there's nothing to talk about with the 49ers right now.

Like, nothing at all.

But, with, with the Vikings, obviously they have that, that quarterback competition that they're going through right now.

Right.

With the Saints, there's a ton of excitement about them and, and what they're ready to do this season and everything as well, too.

So, you know, just slowly but surely ramping up, but also, you know, making sure, take some time for yourself.

Like, this is the perfect time- Yeah to disconnect.

Like, it's, it's about to be July 4th weekend and, you know- Mm-hmm over here it's about to be a heat wave of, like, over, like, 120 like every single day.

So yeah, just, and, and look, it's not a bad idea to disconnect from football, but please watch our podcast.

Like, I just wanna make sure we say that.

Yes, absolutely.

Absolutely watch the Sprint Right Option podcast.

It's, dare I say, the best football podcast there is.

That's my opinion.

It's Jason opinion too probably.

but yeah, man, it, it, it's been nice.

It's been nice to kind of disconnect from the 49ers.

you know, I haven't really talked about the thing that's been going on with, with number 11, 'cause,- What, Ty Detmer?

'cause to me there's n- yeah, Ty Detmer.

Josh Johnson, he's a good one, how he, how he kind of played in that NFC championship game- But- and all that stuff.

But can I ask you, like, what the hell is Quinton Patton doing?

Like, is there no one in his corner to give him good advice?

Like, what are you doing, Quinton Patton?

Alex Smith, he's doing a good job on ESPN.

I, I think he's- Yeah, and- a very solid commentator.

Honestly, I really believe that Marquise Goodwin could still play for the 49ers and be that deep threat that they're looking for.

I, I really like him.

I mean, Steve Spurrier, the old, the old ball coach, he was pretty good at South Carolina.

Like, there, there's a lot of news going on with number 11, and really those are the only number 11s I can think of personally.

Yeah, Mark Messier.

Mark Messier, if we wanna go outside of- out, out, of the, of the Niners.

Didn't Brett Gardner- Yeah wear number 11?

Yeah.

Brett, Brett Gardner, Gary Sheffield, Dwight, Dwight Gooden, Anthony Volpe, you know?

I can- Ooh, yeah we can, we can- I'm sure you really- Yeah, I mean- I think, I think you'd rather wanna talk about Brandon Aiyuk than Anthony Volpe at this point.

I, listen, Anthony Volpe, look, you're, you're from Jersey and you're, you're a big, you know, Derek Jeter fan, but I need you expeditiously off my baseball team, please.

Goodness.

Jase, Jase, Jase- Why can't he- number 11 out of your- Why can't he be in the, why can't he be in the closet throwing money on the floor?

'Cause then you know the Steinbretters will get rid of him.

Jesus.

Hey, man, listen, listen, the, the, the only thing I've taken away from the Aiyuk situation is the stupid, how he said stupid.

It, it kind of reminded me of, Dexter's Laboratory.

Remember that show- Oh on Cartoon Network?

Like, like, that, that, that's really the biggest thing.

No.

Listen, realistically, as, as fun as it is to make fun of the Aiyuk situation, this podcast has always liked to talk about things that have actually happened.

Right.

tangible things that have happened.

And while, yes, the, the Aiyuk videos are crazy and different and something we're not used to, nothing has happened.

Nothing has changed- Nothing since the last time we've talked about the Brandon Aiyuk situation.

So until there is actually a Finite- Finite resolution.

An, yeah, exactly Understood Resolution.

Which, which, which is a situation I'm guessing that it's gonna be Ayuk is gone and he's going to the Commanders, whatever it may be.

I, I have no interest in talking about it because- Me neither all it is is hearsay and what Brandon Ayuk is saying versus what the Niners aren't saying.

Whatever it is, what it is.

We're here to talk about the actual 49ers, the players who are on the team.

So until Ayuk is gone or until Ayuk is here or whatever it may end up being, I don't have much interest in speaking on the Ayuk situation.

I'm good.

There's nothing to add.

And if, and look, and here's the thing, is if you want that type of stuff, there's plenty of people talking about that- Yes and giving their opinion.

So, you know, you h- it's not like there's any s- shortage of people talking about it.

But, you know, Andrew and I just wanna focus Like, I would like to talk about other things that are going on with the team and, and, and things that we can, you know, see going forward.

Until there is a reporting or whatever, anything like that, like I don't even wanna get into that part.

I don't really care.

Like, I don't care.

But I will say this, I am enjoying watching this and watching Commanders fans who all of a sudden- Yeah are, are booty clapping for, for Brandon Ayuk, which is a ridiculous notion, and watching 49ers fans and them go back at it, that's really fun.

And it is a really nice distraction because the Yankees are fucking pissing me off to, like, no end.

Like, so it, it's cool to, it's cool to just, you know, watch this from afar.

But as far as taking anything seriously, I really don't care.

And if you need some, if you need some opinions on it, there's plenty of people out there on YouTube that are talking about it and, you know, there's no shortage of Brandon Ayuk content.

Just unfortunately, we won't be doing that, for better or worse.

Yeah.

Yeah, we, it, it, there's not much to talk about on it.

I mean, we can talk about the spiral and all that stuff.

But like, this is a football podcast.

We can, we can talk about the 49ers who are there, and that's what we're gonna do.

We're gonna look at the Niners' position groups today.

i- it's been an interesting off-season, dare I say, for the 49ers.

you know, they, they made moves.

Obviously the draft is, is two months passed at this point.

A lot of people had their thoughts on that.

but we're at the point, as I mentioned at the start, training camp's coming up.

This is roughly what the roster's gonna be at this point.

I, I don't, I don't necessarily foresee, obviously there is a Bosa brother that's still available.

People seem to think that he might be done.

I don't know what's going on, so maybe we add somebody else here or there.

But this is likely what the team is gonna be from this point on until they cut down to 53.

So what we're gonna do is we're gonna look at the position groups.

We're gonna talk about who we think is the, the deepest position, who we, where we think the thinnest position's gonna be, and just kinda go over the, the, the roster as it sits right now.

Just discuss it, because there, there, it's an interesting roster.

Dare I say, it's, it's a very interestingly laid out roster.

Some position groups, they addressed very heavily.

Some position groups were here on June 29th and they haven't really addressed it, right?

So, here we are.

JKBG, love you, miss you, been too long.

I like the start.

That's how we know.

That's a good little start.

I, it's been too long, fellows.

I miss my serapi toppy.

I, I love how I threw that out there, what, four years ago?

And it stuck.

And that's still just a, a term.

beard's looking immaculate on this Monday afternoon.

J- thank you, JKBG.

We've, we've missed you.

we appreciate the support as always.

so let, let's start going through.

And let, let's just go position by position, Jason.

We could t- talk about how deep we feel the position is.

Let's start at quarterback.

It, it's, it's the- Mm-hmm number one position everybody likes to talk about.

Niners entering training camp, Brock Purdy, Mac Jones, Curtis Rourke, Adrian Martinez.

For better or for worse, this is one of the deepest positions on the 49ers- For sure because of Mac Jones.

I'm very curious to see what happens with Mac Jones this season, 'cause I, I could see this being a situation where Mac Jones gets traded at the deadline.

the, the contract is, is he's got one year left.

A team will be desperate for a quarterback spot.

And if Brock Purdy stays healthy up until the trade deadline, I could see the Niners looking to move on from Mac Jones just to get some sort of value for him.

I don't necessarily like that quarterback as the deepest position because I believe that you should only have one quarterback.

I know obviously the Purdy's health situation, it, it makes it a little more difficult.

Mm-hmm.

But I, in an ideal world, Brock Purdy plays 17 games this season, or 16 with, with resting for weeks at 18 and for the playoffs- I like that all that stuff, and it doesn't matter.

but one of the deepest positions on the team, quarterback.

Yeah, and, and the thing is, is to your point about Mac Jones, it would be like a Sam Bradford type of situation where either a team has had abysmal quarterback play or have suffered a devastating injury.

And I don't even know- if we can take a training camp trade off of the table given the fact that there could be, you know, a, a, a horrible injury during that time as well.

I do think the 49ers really wanna hold onto Mac Jones for as long as they can- Yes because they are definitely afraid of what it would look like without him.

But as the resident Hoosier on this pod, I understand that Curtis Rourke hasn't really turned heads in the OTAs.

And, and I think it was Dieter Kurtenbach who was saying that, you know, he was throwing balls in the dirt and Adrian Martinez looked better than him.

I still firmly believe that Curtis Rourke is a capable backup, and I do think that given the proper time and, and with the system and the weapons and the way that Kyle Shanahan has lifted quarterbacks in the past, looking at you Nick Mullens, I do think Curtis Rourke could be a complete- and fine backup.

But I do think that it shouldn't be off the table to move Mac Jones now in training camp or, you know, like you said, towards the deadline, because there are gonna be teams that say, "Hey, you know what?

We're actually really close to a playoff berth here, and we just need a little bit more from the quarterback."

It could be something where, you know, again, people's jobs are on the line.

Front office guys- you know, coaches, they need wins.

They need So don't discount the idea that the f- that the 49ers could be willed into something like that if there is a team that becomes desperate enough because they wanna save their job and they see a playoff berth on, on the horizon.

Yeah, and I mean, you could, you could see teams, and I'm just gonna throw out a couple random teams.

I could see a team like, let's say the Colts, right?

The, the Colts- Okay sitting there in the AFC South.

Maybe they play a little better with their quarterback position, the situation with Daniel Jones, we don't really know when he's gonna come back.

Maybe they say, "Hey, you know what?

Mac Jones, one-year contract.

Bridge us to Daniel Jones to get back, then move on."

I could see a situation where- Anthony, Anthony Richardson for Ma- Anthony Richardson for Mac Jones, straight up.

I, I, I, I, I'll do it.

Do it.

Why not?

Why not, right?

Another s- another team, Atlanta, right?

Atlanta plays in the NFC South, that's always an interesting division.

Maybe Atlanta's defense kinda keeps them afloat.

They sit there and say, "Well, Michael Pa- Penix and Tua Tagovailoa not helping us."

Maybe they call the Niners at the trade deadline.

A team like maybe Cincinnati, you know, you, Burrow, kind of the same situation as Purdy.

They have so much talent around Burrow.

Burrow has issues staying healthy.

Maybe they get, they get in a situation around week eight, they're, they're in a playoff spot, Burrow's hurt, they go get Th- there's certain situations.

Obviously, I think the Niners would like to keep Mac Jones.

I, I, I think- For sure they love Mac Jones, and I could see a situation, honestly, where Mac Jones is the backup quarterback for the next five years, right?

I, like, absolutely could see it, where he gets enough playing time consistently because Purdy gets dinged up here and there, where he gets that satiat- satiated of, of playing time, but then he's still the backup, getting that backup money, all that stuff.

And, and he obviously enjoys it.

I mean, you see him looking like he's on some sort of drug at Titan University, enjoying- Oh, wow his time, right?

Like, he's looking like he's having a good time.

He obviously likes being here.

He's shown it.

I'm very curious to see how they move forward with it, but if we're talking about deepest to thinnest positions, quarterback is, is near the tippy top of deep positions because of Mac Jones.

Yeah, for sure.

And, and again, ideally, in a perfect world, which the 49ers think everything is perfect and everything will be perfect, you know, Brock Purdy has to play and there'll never be a chance for Mac Jones to play, but yeah, I agree.

You know, and, and again, the 49ers, nobody fixates on the backup quarterback more than the 49ers and their fan base.

Mm-hmm.

And that's because- Yeah of injury after injury after injury, and that was with Jimmy.

You know, that, that was the reason that they, they went to go get Trey Lance.

Trey Lance is injured, and now he's not playing, and Brock can't stay healthy.

you know, obviously everyone's gonna throw that at Kyle Shanahan, which is nonsense, but you know, it, it is what it is.

And, yeah, I think the 49ers would like to hold on to Mac Jones for as long as they can, because they are definitely afraid of losing Brock Purdy for an extended period of time.

Yeah.

And Mac Jones is largely the reason the 49ers were able to win 13 games.

Yeah.

Because he kept them afloat.

A- and, and the games that he lost, you can't even really say, "Hey, it was because of Mac."

For the most part, he was just as good at times as Brock Purdy last season, even though I think Brock Purdy played his best football later in the year in his career.

I think I just got myself a little excited about the idea of Kevin Stefanski getting Mac Jones out down there in Atlanta, but hey, neither him nor there.

We, we can talk about that later.

Well, I mean, you know, one of those lefty quarterbacks has to, you know, that's not good, has to take the job, right?

Yeah.

At some point, right?

but let's mo- let's move on to running back now, another position that is deep, strictly because of who is the number one running back.

I really like the conversation of J- like, we, we kind of fall into this trap every year with running back, right?

We, last year it was with Brian Robinson, year before it was with Isaac Guendo, here and there.

it's Christian McCaffrey's position, u- until it's not.

He's gonna get 75% of the carries, and then Jordan James, Kalen Ballage, Isaac Guendo, they're gonna split it.

Niners running back position, Christian McCaffrey, Jordan James, Kalen Ballage, Isaac Guendo, Guendo.

Obviously a torn pec.

W- see when he comes back.

Patrick Taylor.

Patrick Taylor's there.

maybe Matt Breida.

You know, Matt Breida's usually always just kind of thrown that one out there just why not.

Always, there's, there's always, there's always someone that they can just call off the sh- off the couch, so.

Yeah.

Gotta, gotta bring back, oh my God, I'm drawing a blank on it.

You have his jersey.

What's his name?

Jerick McKinnon.

There we go.

I got it.

Jerick McKinnon.

Yeah, man.

but yeah, man, running back is fine.

I, I, I'm still a little concerned, a little concerned about Christian McCaffrey's running game last season, right?

He averaged a career low in r- yards per attempt, even though he was the bell cow.

A lot of what he had was in the passing game, and that was because the receiver position was pretty weak, right?

Like, let's be honest, receiver was very weak last season for the 49ers.

Dawson, how you doing?

Um- Good to see you, my boy.

I, I do have slight concerns that the regression for Christian McCaffrey as a running back has started, but obviously that's not to take away his ability as an offensive weapon.

I'm not sitting here and saying Christian McCaffrey is, is, is at a point where he's gonna start getting significantly worse.

I just think there's concerns for him as a running back and running back only.

Obviously, there's much more value in Christian McCaffrey than just running back.

But this, this, this position group is, is good until Christian McCaffrey really shows regression.

Insane fact, Christian McCaffrey turns 30 and so does Joe Burrow.

And I have no idea how to feel about that in terms of- No way.

H- how the hell is Joe Burrow 30?

but yeah, you can look that up.

But you know, I wrote an article for Niners Nation about how to u- Oh my God, he is how did you Yeah, because he, he went back to college, like that movie Necessary Roughness, when he was, like, 40 or whatever, to go back and play quarterback for LSU.

so look, I wrote an article on Niners Nation about how to utilize Christian McCaffrey, and a lot of it has to do with just using him in the passing game, and possibly using him in that role that you had for Deebo Samuel, that wide back role.

A lot of, you know, quick tunnel screens.

And, and the, the, the idea behind it is, one, it still keeps him on the field, two, it still creates those match-ups, and three, you're shielding him from h- getting hit over and over in between.

And look, we realize that what happened last year with Christian McCaffrey has a little bit to do with the fact that, you know, time comes for everyone.

The 49ers wide receiving blocking group was abysmal last season.

Mm-hmm.

And there was times where there were blocks that were there to be had, and they whiffed, which is why I feel like DeSean Stribling, besides, you know, the, the, athletic profile, you know, the blocking thing is super important, right?

Yeah.

And I think that you're gonna see that improve, obviously Mike Evans and all, and we'll get to wide receiver in a minute.

But, yeah, Christian McCaffrey, I think, you know, and again, I'm, I'm yelling into the void because we all know this.

He's not coming off the field and he's gonna touch the ball 400 times as long as he's upright and healthy.

So- Yeah no matter what I say, it doesn't matter.

Kyle Shanahan doesn't give a damn what I think.

But having him line up in the slot, Kayla Blackor or Jordan James, whoever in the backfield, you still have that matchup issue, and you still have that guy who can take, you know, linebackers and, and whip their ass with option routes and everything.

And you can still have him involved, 'cause you do need him in this offense.

He's just as important as anyone on this offense.

He literally carried them the entire season.

So it's just when is the, when is the bullet gonna come?

When is the, when is the, when's the knife gonna, you know, come?

When is the, the rug gonna be pulled out?

So- Yeah it's hard to, it's hard to predict that.

But if the 49ers aren't thinking forward in terms of what to do if he goes down or anything like that, then they're just, they're, they're as naive as we believe they are in certain things.

And J-Rod, good Yo, we got everybody back today.

J-Rod, I think- Yeah this is the year Jalen Hurd finally breaks out.

That's a bold take.

It's, it's a hot take, and, and you know what?

I like it.

I like it on June 22nd.

June 29th.

I have my own, that I'll get to when we get to the position group.

but, that's a good one.

but Jason, you make the point of, you know, the Niners not maybe looking forward to the, the, the potential drop-off of Christian McCaffrey.

But they've almost looked forward to it to a fault, because you look at the backups behind him, and they're all guys they drafted within the last three years.

Garendo- Yeah James, and Black.

And it's so interesting, they keep just rotating these running backs.

And, and I'm, I'm most curious to see where Caleb Black ends up.

And, and he, he's gonna be my running back to watch this season.

'Cause, like Garendo- Yeah he's kind of on his way out.

He kind of feels like- He's in trouble he's the, he's the Elijah Mitchell of this group, where it's like, hey man, a couple years ago we were talking about him like he's gonna be the next big thing potentially.

And now he's just kind of fallen out of favor.

Jordan James, last year the Niners didn't use him until they literally had to in the playoff game against the Seahawks.

I'm, I'm curious to see how Caleb Black falls in and, and we're, we're having this conversation as if Caleb Black's just not gonna touch the ball this entire season, 'cause that's what we've seen with Garendo and Jordan James and it, it- Right it, it just keeps happening.

But I, I'm very curious because it, it does feel like we're getting closer and closer to the, the regression of Christian McCaffrey.

I'm curious to see what it looks like this season.

Maybe he proves us a little long, especially with a potential new left guard, some better blocking running, or betting, better blocking wide receivers.

It's, it's gonna be interesting to see where Christian McCaffrey goes from here.

But let's move on to the wide receiver position group.

Well, one more- Jason- One more thing or do you want to get one more point?

Go ahead.

Yeah.

One, one more thing.

So, like, for everybody who is wondering, like, why isn't Jordan James active?

It's because he doesn't play special teams, and when he did play special teams in a divisional game, hello, you're out of your lane and Rasheed Shaheed has already beaten the 49ers and, and, and they're off and running.

So it's hard to figure out where these guys fit in on the game day roster if they can't play special teams, and you're not intending to give them the football in any way.

You're not intending to have them on the field.

So when people are like, "Why isn't Jordan James active?"

He can't play special teams.

And when he was on special teams, he jumped right out of his lane on the opening kickoff.

Rasheed Shaheed takes it to the crib, the rest is history, and the San Francisco 49ers are eliminated.

So it's hard to figure out, and I think the other thing is, is each pick indicts the pick before it.

Meaning you took Garendo, then you take James, that means you hate Garendo.

Then you take Caleb Black, that means you hate James.

So it's, it's really interesting to me, for a team that has been able to find undrafted free agents, Jeff Wilson, you know, they, they, they squeeze whatever they got out of Tevin Coleman, Matt Breida.

Yep.

You know, all these guys, it's, it's crazy to me that they continue to, to use these resources in the draft.

And all it does is create a further indictment on the original draft pick, because you missed on that guy.

I really don't think they like any of the running backs that they have, and we'll see what's up with Caleb Black.

Yeah.

and again, all, all this conversation about which running back they like behind McCaffrey, probably doesn't matter.

McCaffrey's gonna get 80% of the carries anyway.

Doesn't matter.

Right.

It, it, it's always so funny to talk Niners running backs 'cause it's just, it's Christian McCaffrey.

That's just what it is.

Yeah.

let's move on to receiver.

One of the worst position groups on the team last season, due to injury and, and number 11 kind of going off the deep end.

all of a sudden it, it feels like the deep- one of the deepest position groups, if not the deepest.

Mike Evans is your receiver one, and then you kind of talk about whether Ricky Pearsall or Christian Kirk's receiver two.

Beyond that, DeSean Stribling, the Niners first pick.

You continue with DeMarcus Robinson, he's back.

Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowing, Malik Turner.

There's a lot of names there.

Obviously the core of it is going to be Mike Evans, Ricky Pearsall, and Christian Kirk.

And it's so interesting to me, Jason, because there's been a few position groups that have been not super deep the past few seasons.

I'm talking about offensive line, I'm talking about the defensive line, the secondary as well, where the Niners are so hesitant to really address those position groups.

But the one year they have a down year for receiver, they instantly build it back up.

And, and, and I think that's more of an indictment of how important Kyle Shanahan thinks of the position, because it, it- we've, we've been so used to obviously Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel and having such a, and Jauan Jennings, having such a deep receiving group, that last year it falls off and they completely rebuild it in one off-season.

This is the one position group, outside of maybe some Mike Evans health issues, which- You know, I, I'm, I'm a little give or take with it because, yes, he is getting a little long in the tooth, but his history has shown he's been able to stay healthy, and his one injury was the broken collarbone last season, and that doesn't tell me he's getting older.

Like, if, if it was, like, a pulled hammy or, or something like that, it was just a fluke tackle.

He hits his shoulder wrong, breaks his collarbone, boom, he's out for however long he was out.

But before 2025, Mike El- Evans has been able to stay relatively healthy, throughout his entire career.

So if he can stay healthy, the Niners have a legitimate number one wide receiver option, which is gonna take the pressure off of Ricky Pearsall, Christian Kirk, guys like that.

t- to me, this is the deepest position group on the 49ers, Jason.

I'm curious to see if you agree.

yes and no.

I also say that we forgot, Kyle Juszczyk in the running back room, so that means that- Yes one of those guys has to be cut for 44 as well too.

Mm-hmm.

Which, you know, I'm kinda over it at this point.

but it's fine.

You know, Grant, Grant put up a, a nice little, post and he said, "Do, who would you rather have on the team, number 11 or number 44?"

And it was overwhelmingly 44.

And I just wanna know if you guys need your head checked, you know, because- Right I don't need the fullback over, you know, I don't care what kind of head case the guy is, you can still say he's a great football player, because he is.

But w- n- neither here nor there.

I, yes and no.

you know, obviously the Mike Evans thing, you know, is, is a good thing, and he took less money, you know, in your face for the people that thought the electrical substation was gonna stop people from joining this team.

And, you know, the Ricky Pearsall thing, I think that's the perfect spot for him.

I think when he is the number two, he is one of the best number twos in the NFL, the upper echelon.

And I'll, and I'll stand on that, because the issue with Ricky Pearsall isn't talent, and that's the frustrating part.

Um- Yeah after that, you know, the Christian Kirk thing, it does feel like he's destined to be a slot guy.

I'm interested to see what they do with Dejon Stribling.

I'm really, really interested with the last three.

And the 49ers usually keep six receivers, so DeMarcus Robinson, Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowan.

Okay, I believe Jacob Cowan isn't going anywhere.

I do think the 49ers really like Jacob Cowan.

Yeah.

Now, this leaves Jordan Watkins and DeMarcus Robinson.

DeMarcus Robinson's certainly a cut candidate, but my question is: how did you find yourself in this position, Jordan Watkins, where you are battling DeMarcus Robinson and you can't even get any snaps or anything like that?

Like, what is it about your play that this team Like, for instance, Jo- John Lynch at the combine, "We love Jacob Cowan.

We think that he's gonna be great.

While Jordan Watkins has a lot of things that he needs to catch up on."

Like, the tone and the shift in those tones makes me believe, Jordan Watkins, you're on the clock, man.

And this is only your second year.

I just wanna know what's going so wrong with this young man that you are fighting DeMarcus Robinson for a spot.

And Andrew, I gotta be honest, man, given Kyle Shanahan's track record of who I trust, who's in the circle, right now I still have to give that edge to DeMarcus Robinson because of the- Yeah reliability and, and how Kyle Shanahan doesn't wanna mess around with somebody he can't trust.

So Jordan Watkins, sorry, buddy, this isn't me saying this, you're on the clock.

This is the team telling you this.

So it's interesting.

It is deep, but it has a lot of unknowns, and a lot of it has to do with health, but the back end is like, are we ever gonna see Jordan Watkins?

Why did you waste a draft pick on him?

do they really like Jacob Cowan, who I think is a phenomenal route runner, just can't get on the field.

Are you even gonna use those guys?

So, yes and no, this is the, the deepest, position, because there's so many questions when it comes to it, and a lot of it is injury-related, Andrew.

Yeah, and, and also too, the thing with DeMarcus Robinson is is you look at the g- the wild card game in Philadelphia, the Niners don't have much there, especially to- 100-yard game Caleb and Kirk.

And, and who's- 100-yard game against Quinyon Mitchell.

Yeah, who's the number one guy that, that they went to in that game?

Who's, who's the guy Shanahan trusted?

It was DeMarcus Robinson.

So I, I, I think right now if, if you wanna keep six receivers on this roster, i- i- it's gonna be Evans, Pearsall, Kirk.

You gotta keep Stribling because, you know- Yep top, first pick you, you use.

And I think if we're just going off of trust, it's Robinson and Cowan.

A- and y- you look at the amount of times they could've gotten rid of Jacob Cowan, especially with the injuries last season.

no, the Niners ki- and I believe, if I'm remembering correctly, he was active in the playoff game, if I'm remembering correctly.

Maybe I could be wrong, but- I, I g- I don't remember that, but also, especially- I, I, I feel like- He, he plays m- He's- He could be their punt re- he could be their punt returner as well too.

That's the other reason that, that you've gotta feel like Cowan is a lock for this roster.

Mm-hmm, yeah.

So, so i- it's, it's gonna be tough for J- for Jordan Watkins to make this team.

I, I, I don't know, I don't see where it fits and, and, you know, it's unfortunate because he, a lot of people seem to really like him, especially on Twitter, which I know obviously Twitter- But why?

knows everything about every player.

But, but Andrew, but, but why?

And, and this is, and this is not even me saying that I think the player is bad.

It's, "Oh, I, I really believe in Jordan."

Why?

What?

What, y- his college t- he has, he has no NFL film.

He has no reason for all this confidence.

You know, like I, I just don't understand that.

Now, having said that, you could say the same thing with me and Jacob Cowan, but at least Jacob Cowan- Yeah has, like, caught a few passes in the NFL and, yeah.

But it's, it's the irrational confidence in Jordan Watkins, and I just wanna know why.

What has he done that, that makes- Yeah you feel good?

He's been inactive.

Put it, put it this way.

Put it this way, Andrew.

when we're watching the, the 49ers wide receiver group just go to hell with injuries, he still couldn't get on the field.

And- Mm-hmm Malik Turner's on the field, and you're, you're, you're bringing in guys that, that are just off the street that get run over him.

So what, what is this irrational confidence in Jordan Watkins?

I really would like to know.

Yeah, I, I, I don't know.

And, and that, that, like, that's gonna be I think- You know, we, we have a lot of issue with Niners Twitter sometimes, but, like, th- th- this is gonna be something I'm gonna enjoy to watch, 'cause the sickos are gonna be way into the Jordan Watkins versus Jacob Cowing roster battle.

And, and I, I'm, I'm excited for it.

I'm, I'm, I'm genuinely excited to see how that ends up.

But it really just is gonna come down to neither of them are probably gonna get much run because of the depth in front of them.

And as you said, I think Cowing has the inside track, because the Niners don't have a punt returner or a kick returner right now, because they let Skymore walk to Green Bay for nothing.

I still Out of all the off-season stuff the Niners have done, letting Skymore walk- That's the one.

That's the one That's the one.

A- and I know obviously Sky- but man, he was so goddamn good in the return game.

Yeah.

And the Niners have had such issues with the return game in the Shanahan era.

I just can't believe they let him walk.

But that's neither here nor there, we don't need to talk about Skymore, 'cause I'm gonna get irrationally angry.

Let's move on to the tight end position.

not much to really talk about here in terms of depth.

George Kittle, the Achilles injury, people seem to wanna think he's playing week one.

I'm a little more hesitant on him playing week one.

He's not getting any younger.

Achilles injuries are very scary.

They're very easy to re-irritate, re-injure.

I don't see the reason to rush, especially when you have the greatest tight end of all time, Jake Tongas, behind him.

Luke Farrell, Braden Willis, right?

That's what the tight end position looks like.

Obviously, George Kittle makes this position group a lot, look a lot better.

Jake Tongas, very good.

I like, I like Jake Tongas.

I think he is your replacement level tight end.

I think half the league would be thrilled to have a Jake Tongas as their starting tight end.

The other half of the league probably happy with what they have.

I think you could work with Jake Tongas.

But because the Niners have insulated the receiver position as well as they have, I think they're a little more likely to be able to handle an absence of George Kittle a little longer than what some people think.

I don't think the Niners should rush George Kittle back at all.

I know there's importance in the run blocking game and all that stuff, that that can work.

Obviously, I'm not gonna discount that and George Kittle's talent.

but that's why you have Luke Farrell, right?

Luke Farrell's a, a pretty good run blocker.

He can work.

He fucking sucks.

I know, I, I, I He sucks at a lot of other things, but he- No, he fucking sucks as a blocker, too the Niners.

That's true, too.

I, look- You're, you're, you're correct Andrew, look.

I, I'm trying to be- Look, I don't I, no, no, no.

I, I Look, look, Andrew, I'm a big proponent of if I sign you to do something, one thing- Yeah and you're not good at that one thing, fuck off.

Yeah.

Seriously, man.

Like, and, and, and, and to your point a little bit more, and I'll, I'll, I'll let you get back to it.

The 49ers better be planning for George Kittle to not be ready in week one, because if you are just, like- Yeah thinking that everything's gonna be sunshine and roses in week one, again, you're more naive than I believe.

And I hope- Mm-hmm that they're sitting there planning for Tongas to be the guy to start in week one.

Yeah, I, I, I just I, I can't, especially, like, I understand why people want George Kittle to rush back.

Fan favorite, really, really good.

But we're sitting here talking about a team that has had the injury issues that they have had, and it's not like this is a, this was a six-week injury, right?

That they, you know, he, he missed the playoffs for.

This is a career-altering, potentially, injury, and he's on the wrong side of 30 to come back.

And listen, I'm not gonna discount his work ethic.

I'm not gonna sit here and say George Kittle is not the type of player who can return from this injury in an eight-month timeframe like he is trying to.

I just, with the Niners' injury history, it feels like a very large ask.

And, and if you're at a spot where you have Mike Evans, especially in the passing game, again, we, we could talk about the run blocking ability all we want.

But if you're talking about a passing game that's gonna include Mike Evans, Ricky Pearsall, Christian Kirk, obviously Christian McCaffrey, Jake Tongas has shown he's capable in the pass game, there's no reason to rush him back.

And, and, and even, like, I Tough time saying it, 'cause obviously I'm not George Kittle.

I would not be against the idea of starting him on the PUP list, having him sit the first six weeks out, and then go from there and see where it's at.

but obviously George Kittle's gonna have much more of a say in that situation, and, and the Niners obviously are gonna wanna rush him back because of his talent.

I, I'm fine with letting Kittle, Kittle sit for, for six weeks, just to make sure everything's 100%.

There's no reason to rush him back.

Yeah, and this is why I believe that Mike Evans is the most important offensive weapon this season, because he has to carry the potential of Kittle being out for a while.

And then, you know, the other thing, the elephant in the room is Kittle does return, and it takes him a while to get back to being Kittle.

Mm-hmm.

And what about Christian McCaffrey?

Like, the one constant force on this offense has to be Mike Evans every single game.

Yeah.

And it, and he has to carry them.

And I think that's why Brock Purdy's the most important, you know, offensive player, because he's the quarterback.

But I mean, weapon, it has to be Mike Evans who has to do the heavy lifting while we're waiting to see what's up with George Kittle, while you're planning for the, the eventual, you know, downfall of, of Christian McCaffrey.

So- Mm-hmm yeah, with, with, with this, it's, you have to plan for George Kittle to eventually return, but it's going And just like a lot of other players, and we're gonna get to a lot of other players who were injured last year, that I'm looking at that bye week, where I need you to turn the corner after that bye week if you've been a little bit, you know, behind, or if you're getting yourself back into shape.

So yeah, absolutely.

I think Mike Evans is the most important player in 2026 because we don't know what's gonna happen with Kittle, because something could potentially happen with Christian McCaffrey.

He needs to be the constant force, over 1,000 yards, 12-plus touchdowns.

Mm-hmm.

Red zone, red zone monster.

He's the guy that has to be, and I don't wanna put all this pressure on him, but he has to be the constant ev- Like, week one against, the, you know, who, who did they, J- Watson and, and the other guy that the, the Rams brought in.

You have to hit the ground running.

Yeah.

You have to hit the ground running.

Six catches, 70 yards, a touchdown, easily.

Like, you- Mm-hmm you have to be that guy to start.

There can't be any slow ramp up, because we don't know what we're getting from Christian McCaffrey and we don't know what we're getting from George Kittle.

Or not Snead, McDuffie.

Mc- McDuffie Trent McDuffie.

Yeah.

Yeah, Snead went back to, to Kansas City.

Yes, yes.

yeah.

I, that's really all, that's all I got on tight end, really.

It just comes down to- Yeah, and get- how healthy Kittle is and get Luke Farrell out of here.

I miss Charlie Warner.

Bring back, Braden Willis, sixth season for him, I guess.

'Cause he, yeah.

If they get rid of Farrell, if they get rid of Farrell, like he, he's, he's gonna be your tight end two until Kittle's- Yeah health, let's say.

let's move on to the offensive line, Jason, and if we're talking about deepest to thinnest positions, offensive line's like smack dab in the middle.

Yeah.

I don't have a ton of issues with this.

Left guard's obviously a big c- talking point.

The idea of Robert Jones starting left guard, very exciting.

I think he's about as good as you can get in terms of what was available.

Mm-hmm.

there's some concern about, I, you know, the sentence broken neck, kind of- Neck injury?

Yeah it makes you a little concerned, right?

Like, that's not great.

but you're going Trent Williams, Robert Jones, Jake Brendel, Dominic Puni, Colton McKivitz, left to right, and, and it's just another situation where, outside of Trent Williams, it's a bunch of replacement level offensive linemen, starter quality offensive linemen.

Obviously, a lot of people want them to improve on the offensive line.

I think the Niners are fine on the offensive line.

Could they be better?

Absolutely.

Could they be worse?

Absolutely.

I think that's what Kyle Shanahan likes.

He doesn't want to put too much resources into the offensive line.

Could you improve on Jake Brendel?

Absolutely.

Could you improve on Dominic Puni?

Probably.

Could you improve on Colton McKivitz?

Yes, you can, right?

But they're good enough to start in this league, and you're not paying I, I know a lot of conversation with the former number 69, Mike McGlinchey, you're not paying Colton McKivitz Mike McGlinchey money to be a Colton McKivitz level player.

You're paying him Colton McKivitz money.

So I, I know a lot of people have an issue with the offensive line.

I think this is smack dab in the middle between deepest and thinnest, the average group on the 49ers, and I think that's what Kyle Shanahan's fine with.

Yeah, and I'm more worried about center and left guard.

Um- Yeah PFF is a funny thing, because they wrote an article about, you know, I guess players that have improved every single year, and they say Jake Brendel's gotten better every single year, and I feel the complete opposite.

I feel like he's eroding, and it's starting to get to a point where it's, it's just not gonna get better because of his age.

I'm fine with the right side.

Puni's gonna be fine.

I think so much of what happened last season had to do with him rounding back into shape after that injury.

He's started to play better much later in the season.

I think, once again, we're gonna be fine there, and I think he's gonna bounce right back.

I think Colton McKivitz, and I've said this many times, and I'll, and I'll shout this in anybody's face, that is best bang for your buck right tackle in the NFL.

One of the best deals in the NFL for any position.

To have a premium position as tackle, and to have somebody that you drafted really late, to have that sort of production, he's not an average right tackle.

He's an above average right tackle.

That is bang for your buck one of the best deals in the NFL.

And then obviously, Trent Williams, who, you know what, we've got to start waiting for that to decline as well too, and maybe you saw a little bit of it last year, but fuck is he still really good.

Yeah.

As long as he, as long as he can still really play, I'm not too worried about it.

But, you know, the offensive line, there's certain things that we pine for that we know we're never gonna get.

Meaning, yeah, Christian McCaffrey, we'd like to see somebody else get the football.

Not gonna happen.

Yeah.

you know, offensive line, we'd like to see that get upgraded.

Not gonna happen.

This is, these are just things that we continue to ask for that we just have to also set our watch to and say, "That's not gonna happen."

So if this helps you not be as angry when you see the 49ers pass on offensive lineman after offensive lineman, I hope that's what it's doing, because it should.

Because a- at this point, we can ask for whatever we want to, we're blue in the face.

They don't care, and they've got their philosophy, and it is what it is.

So that should help you get some peace of mind, because we know for a fact that they don't listen to us, but also, they've just got their philosophy and they're just gonna stick with it.

So I mean, it is- Yeah what it is, and for better or worse, we've got to ride it out.

Yeah.

A- and again, it, it's, it could be worse, could be better.

I, I'm fine with where it is right now.

Cubs3B, thank you very much.

We appreciate you.

let's flip sides of- Cubs Baseball.

That's a good baseball team Cubs Baseball.

PCA, dude.

Love PCA.

It's a good b- good, good baseball team.

Uh- Yeah let's, let's flip sides of the trenches, which, kind of funny, ESPN has the Niners defense listed as a base 3-4, so things are a little wonky on ESPN's listing.

Yeah.

but, my least favorite position group right now is the- Wow defensive line.

Okay.

Boy- I, I am not a big fan of this defensive line.

as it sits right now, you got Bosa and Mykel Williams on the outside.

You got Osa, which, which I, is a great addition, and then you, c- you're gonna have a rotation between C.J.

West, Alfred Collins for that second defensive tackle position.

The Niners defensive line has been so predicated on a pass rush the past few years, and right now, what, what's, what's the, I know this isn't the term anymore because Sol is gone- NASCAR turbo but what's the NASCAR package?

What's the NASCAR- I know it package right now?

What, what, what do you got?

I know it.

Bosa, Osa, Mykel next to Osa, and Romello Hightowe.

And I have, I have a bold prediction, and I wrote about it on June 29th.

I have a bold prediction.

Osa is going to lead the team in sacks in 2026.

And if you think that's a bad thing, let me explain.

I think it's a great thing.

When I say that Osa's going to lead the team in sacks, it doesn't mean that he's going to have 14 sacks and Nick Bosa's gonna have six.

Because that s- that seems to be, again- Twitter is the, the best place.

I like pancakes.

Well, why the fuck do you hate waffles?

Like, people, people just saw the, the headline, and they assumed that I think that Nick Bosa's washed.

On the contrary, in fact- Yeah the reason that I believe that Osa is going to lead the team in sacks is because of Nick Bosa, is because of Mykel Williams.

They are going to draw so much attention that Osa's going to be able to feast on one-on-one situations.

And here, I've got more data to back this up.

He led all defensive tackles, according to Stats Data Hub, in knockdowns.

That includes Chris Jones.

He was fourth in the NFL in knockdowns with 20 of all defensive linemen.

He is a pressure machine, and his best season as a pass rusher, sack-wise, he ended up with 11, was when Micah Parsons was next to him.

When I say that Osa is going to lead the team in sacks, it doesn't mean that Nick Bosa's washed.

On the contrary, it means that Nick Bosa is doing his job.

And when I say that Osa's gonna lead the team in sacks, I say it's gonna be Osa with 14 and Bosa with 13.

What- Yeah on earth is wrong with that?

And that's why I The nuance on Twitter is lost, and people don't read.

'Cause when they saw the article, they said, "Oh, is Nick Bosa disappearing?

What is this guy on?"

Read the fucking article.

Like, just please, I have it all laid out right there for you.

Disagree with the logic, fine.

But read the article.

Goddammit, man.

I'm not saying that Bosa's washed and Osa's gonna just dominate.

Like- Yeah the most frustrating part about writing is the fact that nobody reads, and it's hard for me to just continuously pour my information and everything that I'm trying to, to say onto an article when someone reads the headline and they tell me, "This guy thinks Nick Bosa's washed."

Jesus fucking Christ, it takes you three minutes to read our 400 words.

Read the damn article for once.

Goddammit.

Yeah, and listen, I'm, I'm excited for Osa in the middle, right?

Like, I, I, I think that that I, I think the move of the off-season, easily, right?

They, they went out, got a big, big-name player.

I'm just, I'm just concerned about the other edge.

A- and- Right I'm excited for Romello Height a- and who he might be.

I just, the Niners have been too content with rep- with base-level secondary passers, 'cause obviously Nick Bosa's there.

K- Keon White.

But now we're getting to, we're getting to a point where you really gotta be concerned about Nick Bosa's health.

His third ACL tear, ACL tear last season.

He's not getting any young- it's kind of the George Kittle situation.

It's, he's not getting any younger.

He keeps getting hurt, and now it, it, it's very much in the realm of possibilities where it's like, okay, well, if Nick Bosa goes down, what do they do?

And I- Yeah I love Mykel Williams.

I, I love Mykel Williams.

I'm so excited.

I hope he can stay healthy.

He's not a pass rusher.

And then you're gonna have Romello Height, and, and there's just, there's gotta be some other name.

And, like, I'm not asking for a, I'm not asking for a Maxx Crosby.

I'm not asking for a Myles Garrett, although he, it would've been really fucking cool for him not to go to the Rams.

I, I'm not asking for that.

I'm asking for a Leonard Floyd, like, like those names, that kind of tier where- Leonard Floyd, Haason Reddick, a lot of guy- well, Haason Reddick I believe just retired, right?

C- yeah.

L- or even, even, what, oh, shit, what's his name, man?

He just retired too.

De'Vante Smith?

No, he was the Niner, he was a Niner last year, Bryce Huff.

Like, I'm talking like- Yeah I, I wish they had somebody more in that tier.

Pass rush specialist?

Just, just to give you a little bit more.

And maybe, who knows?

Maybe Romello Height becomes that.

Like, like I, I- I think he is I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna poo-poo Romello Height because he's a rookie.

We just don't know what he is yet.

And that's my big concern is, i- I, I just don't know about Romello Height yet.

Yeah.

A- and, and he could prove me wrong.

I hope he proves me wrong.

I would just feel on June 29th, this is June 29th, we don't know what's going on.

We don't know what the team is.

I just would feel much more comfortable going into training camp with a more established second pass rusher.

And again, I see, Kawa Chiftu, however you pronounce that, I apologize, that's what Height is.

He could be, absolutely.

But as of June 29th, I would feel much more comfortable with a b- a better second pass rusher on this roster.

Obviously, Height can develop into that, and I would be thrilled if he does.

Like, just debut on cloudy, like, perfect.

That would be a great level, like, like that tier player, that, that would be great to kind of throw in there.

I'm not gonna sit there and say they need a Maxx Crosby.

I would love a Maxx Crosby.

The, I, I just would feel much more comfortable with a little bit better depth at the second pass rusher because it feels like they're one player away from a really good pass rush in that NASCAR package.

Because the idea of Bosa, Osa, and Mykel, your first three spots, if you can just get somebody consistent in that fourth spot, that other edge rusher, I'd feel very good.

And Height can be that guy.

I just, June 29th, I would feel much better with a, with a, with a more established name in that spot.

Yeah, and we're under a bit of a time crunch, so we're gonna have to move a little bit faster.

But I'll tell you this.

I, I do believe that the NASCAR package is going to have Height, and I think that it's gonna be perfect for him because while he develops everything else, he is still going to be able to have advantageous match-ups.

So think about this.

When you see the, the turbo package, NASCAR package, whatever it is, and you see Bosa, Osa, and Mykel are your three, aren't you just gonna, like, let Romello Height go one-on-one?

Like, he's gonna have opportunities one-on-one against tackles to be able to, and he has moves, so I, I, I really believe that that's where he's gonna make his mark.

And, you know, you think about Keon White and all those other guys, the, the- Samiel problem is, yeah, the problem is, is that they don't have a consistent pass rush.

You need wave after wave of guys, and that's what Seattle has done so well, because they don't stop getting after you because the, the guy behind whoever it was is going to just, you know, do the same exact thing, so.

I'm looking at some of the, the available names for pass rushers right now.

Hassan Reddick, Joey Bosa, Leonard Floyd.

How about Von Miller?

Just get, just give me a Von Miller, you know, uh- He'll be back, he'll be back in Washington one more year.

Kyle Van Noy.

Wasn't there a minute where we thought Kyle Van Noy was gonna be a Niner?

He s- kind of said something that he'd like to be a Niner.

I feel like there was something there.

Yeah.

Yeah, he said that he, he would love to play for the Niners, and why wouldn't he?

Jadeveon Clowney.

Clelin Ferrell, dude, bring him back.

He was, he was decent last year, right?

I think Cubs- Didn't he lead the team in sacks last season?

Yeah, he did.

Look, Cubs, says, "What's the name of that three sacks, week one Pittsburgh guy who fell all the way off the radar?"

Do you, do you remember, do you remember that name, Andrew?

Oh, my God.

He's a Washington Commander.

I'm gonna look it up.

He's a Washington Commander.

Brandon Aiyuk?

No.

Uh- Drake Jackson.

No.

Drake Jackson.

Oh, it was Drake J- He did have three sacks.

Oh, my God.

Yeah, but he had three sacks because Arik Armstead pushed all of them into him, and that's why I never understood.

He had three sacks.

I'm like, "Watch the damn game, man.

That's all Arik Armstead pushing him into..." He just finished.

Drake Jackson.

Yeah.

Drake Jackson.

Washington Commander.

That was his name.

Washington Commander legend.

Don't they have, Kinlaw too?

They have a bunch of fourth round- Kinlaw, yeah I guess, I guess that's, Adam Peters.

Look, Peters, Peters is just bringing the band back together, but whatever.

Who cares about that scrub?- Bringing the band together that scrub franchise.

Come on, we got, we, you gotta get back from lunch, and we got, two more positions to get to.

we got, I got, I got 15 minutes.

We got some time.

All right, cool.

We got two pos- we got two position groups left, 'cause well, we'll just lump the secondary together.

Cool.

linebacker.

You feel really good with the starters, Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw.

And then you remember Dre Greenlaw has some injury issues, and then you look at the names behind him, Talanoa Hufanga, Luke Gifford, the legend, Garrett Walpo.

I feel fine with the position group if it could stay healthy.

Obviously, Dre Greenlaw, very talented if he can stay healthy.

Fred Warner is the best linebacker in the NFL, despite the injury last season.

Where I, I, this position group really comes down to how healthy Dre Greenlaw can stay.

It, you know, if, if you're watching this episode, I implore you to, to go back, watch it from the beginning, because it's a banger of an episode, and we've been- Yeah we've been covering a lot of things.

Just take a drink every time we say, "If this person stays healthy."

Yeah.

yeah, yeah, that, that's it.

And, and that's, that's essentially every single concern at every single position group with basically every single star player on this team.

But yeah, the, the linebacker group, you know, I think what's really important about not only, you know, Fred being back, the, the fact that he's excellent, is how he's going to help the back end and the communication.

Because that just- Yeah completely went to hell when he left.

And that's not Talanoa Hufanga's fault.

It's not Dee Winther's fault.

None of those guys.

Because one, you're not Fred Warner, and two, they don't ask you to do that, right?

So- Mm-hmm it is concerning, because the 49ers are an injury away from it being Garrett Walpo or, you know, Nick Martin.

You know, I think Nick Martin, I think Nick Martin got the biggest vos- vote of confidence this entire off-season, because they didn't go out there and draft another linebacker.

I do think that there is a role for him, and I wouldn't be shocked if it's a role of using him to blitz with Raheem Morris because that's what he was so good at, at O- at Oklahoma State.

So there are roles for all these guys, but, you know, the, the whole if Dre Greenlaw can stay healthy thing, again, the 49ers better be preparing to see him miss a few games.

And that's not you predicting the injury or wanting that to happen, but you have to.

It's one of those things.

If you prepare, yeah, if you prepare for the worst, then the worst can't happen, right?

Let me shut up about that and knock on wood.

Yeah.

but yeah, you know, I do think, you know, I do think that they have, you know, they, they have the, the guys that they have there and, you know, and, and I do think that they have a role in mind for Nick Martin, who they really like.

Funny enough, it's, they drafted Nick Martin, and it felt like that was a Robert Saleh draft, and yet they didn't use him at all.

And even, like, you know, obviously the concussion knocked him out, but I do think there is a role for him.

But yeah, the whole, like, if Dre Greenlaw can stay healthy thing, I, you know, it's, it's a great deal because if he does, then bang for your buck.

You just got one of the better, you know, up-ball linebackers on the, on the, on the, you know, market.

But man, you're, you're, you're kind of playing with fire here, because you need him to stay on the field or you need him to play as many games as possible, I should say.

It's, it's a size 72 font if with Dre Greenlaw.

Yeah, yeah.

And, and, and Niner fans know how good he can be, and, and it- Yeah obviously we would like him to stay healthy.

this is the Sprint Right Option podcast, though, Jason, that any time we mention Dre Greenlaw's name we legally have to say, "Do you imagine if they fucking kept Aziz Al-Shaair?"

I miss Aziz Al-Shaair.

I miss Aziz Al-Shaair so much, man.

but that's okay.

I know that- We were right.

Look, I just want to say, no, I just want to say we were right.

We were right.

And I want- We were right I want- We were right I want, I want flowers, and I want a victory lap because there is no way on earth that you, anybody can say with any sort of confidence that they believe that Dre Greenlaw is better than Aziz Al-Shaair.

Aziz Al-Shaair is a dog, and I wish we kept him.

I miss you every single day, Aziz.

Miss you every day, Aziz.

We, we love you.

Let's move on to the secondary, Jason, kind of lump them together.

this is another position group that I'm a little concerned about.

The names are there, it's just this was the healthiest group on the defense last year, and they had their fair share of issues.

Right now at cornerback you have Deommodore Lenoir, Greenardo Green on the outside, Upton Stout as your slot.

There's some speculation that Nate Hobbs might jump Greenardo Green at that starting spot on the outside.

We'll see what happens.

Obviously, there's a lot of people who seem to think Deommodore Lenoir is better on the inside than he is on the outside.

But Upton Stout has a grip on that, that slot cornerback position.

And then safety, Ji'Ayir Brown, Malik Mustafa, Marquis Siegel.

There's kind of a, a three-person group that could fight for the two spots.

We'll see how that lands.

I don't know how to feel about this secondary, because, I mean, if you go back to the 2018 49ers, historically the worst secondary.

Or no, sorry, the Jets.

The Jets this year did it, zero interceptions.

but up until that point, the Niners' 2018 secondary, two interceptions, the previous record for fewest interceptions in a season.

The 2018 off-season, they don't really address the secondary.

They run in with the same team.

But now they have a Dee Ford, a Nick Bosa.

They address the pass rush.

And all of a sudden the secondary looked a lot better.

I, I don't necessarily wanna blame it because of the pass rush issues last season.

This is a group that needs to take the biggest step this off-season if you wanna talk about a potential Super Bowl run for this team.

and, and, obviously, a better pass rush will help, and Nick Bosa coming back obviously makes the pass rush better by default.

Where are you with this secondary?

Because it feels like there's five spots if we're talking both cornerbacks, both safeties, and slot, but there's about eight people that I think you could kind of plug and play at any of the spots and feel comfortable with.

I'm also looking at this depth chart.

Forgot Eli Apple's a Niner.

Just wanted to throw that name in there.

Blah.

Yeah.

blah.

So- More, more, I'm more of an Eli Orange guy, you know?

Nice.

E- excellent.

Thank you.

And, and oh my God, what the, the guy on Minnesota that they call, Big Citrus, that they just drafted, that's, like, easily one of the best, nicknames, in, in the NFL, by the way, defensive lineman.

anyway, we're, we're not talking produce here.

So, the safety position is obviously the one that is, jumps out to you, you know?

Malik Mustafa, Ji'Ayir Brown, neither invoke confidence right now.

Yes.

And, you know, Malik had a really good year, eh, the first year.

The sec- you know, he was injured, so how much of that has to do with it?

How much it has to do with no pass rush?

There, there's a few things that you can say, and for better or worse or, you know, I guess if this makes you feel better or if it doesn't, there's no way the 49ers, can, can be this bad again on defense, right?

Yeah.

Pass rush is gonna be better.

Fred Warner's gonna be able to communicate on the back end.

The safeties is where I'm at.

I believe that Vernerda D. Green is going to bounce back in a huge way, in a huge way.

I think he's gonna have that locked down.

I do think Raheem Morris is gonna have him play a little bit more man, because I do think he was a little miscast.

Now, there is a lot that Vernerda D. Green has to clean up on his own, which is why Kyle Shanahan was all over him, was, you know, you just, the little things.

Know where you were.

Know, you know, know where you're supposed to be.

You know, know where you are on the field.

Like, that stuff he has to clean up, and that's his fault.

But there is a lot of stuff that I feel like, kind of, he was a little bit miscast.

So I'm not as worried Vernerda D. Green.

I think Lenoir's fine.

I think Upton Stout, he, there's no doubt that he's gonna be there.

It's the safeties, man.

Um- Yeah i- and, and how much of that has to do with the fact that the communication was bad?

How much of this has to do with the fact that both those guys aren't fast and they can't, you know, get back and cover?

It's, it's really, it's really tough.

And, and my question is, and I believe, I believe it was I don't know if you guys are familiar with him.

Film Watchers is, is a guy who's doing stuff with, with NFL, dot com, and, and I think the, the kid really has a good grasp on, on scheme and everything.

Do you guys remember that long touchdown to Luther Burden, and where we just- Yeah see Ji'Ayir Brown chasing?

Well, he broke the play down and, you know, you guys can find it on Twitter, but it was such a, an electric play call from Ben Johnson, who crafted two guys that were running into that area, that there was only one defender.

So no matter who Ji'Ayir Brown tried to come down on, the other guy was gonna be open.

D.J.

Moore is running by himself, Luther Burden's running by himself.

So on that instance, you're gonna say, "Oh, what the hell is Ji'Ayir Brown doing?"

You know, sometimes you just gotta tip your cap.

Ben Johnson called a hell of a play, and I implore you guys to check it out, because there were two options for a touchdown on that play.

Caleb Williams got to choose.

So, it's just the safeties, man.

And it, it, it's gonna be better only because the pass rush is gonna be better and because Fred Warner can communicate.

But man, it would be really nice to see those guys take a step.

Who the 49ers drafted both those guys, I, I just don't know if we're gonna see those guys on the roster next season, at all, and that would be a shame, because you drafted both those guys.

Yeah.

And, and I, I think it's really interesting the Niners told you what they thought about the safety position.

They didn't add anybody.

They didn't really make any moves to make the group better.

So it tells you that they're at least comfortable with Ji'Ayir Brown, Malik Mustafa, Marquis Siegel.

We'll see what that ends up looking like.

I, I don't know how to feel about it, because I, I think Ji'Ayir Brown is kind of what he is at this point, right?

Like, I think we know what to expect.

I kinda, I did like what they tried to do with making him the big safety linebacker kinda hybrid last year.

I think that worked to an extent.

Yeah.

but the, the regression of Malik Mustafa in year two is very concerning.

Siegel was kinda up and down, could take or leave him, but the Niners told you that they feel good with it, so we'll see what that looks like.

And then, yeah, I, I think cornerback has to improve.

I, I think, I think that, that a lot of that was tied to the pass rush not working well last season.

Niners were still the only team last season with fewer sacks than Myles Garrett.

which, hey, I don't know if you heard this, Jason, but, he's on the Rams now.

so, so I, I- But we're supposed to be, but we're, we're supposed to be afraid of the Commanders with Brandon Aiyuk, though.

Yeah, we're supposed to be afraid of that one week five game on the season when we're playing.

Yeah, yeah, they're like, they're like, "They're stopping, they're stopping him because they're afraid of that game."

Fuck off, man.

We're worried about Seattle and Los Angeles.

You, like- Yeah.

Uh- you don't even matter.

Like, please, you don't matter.

So, so I, I'm curious to see what the secondary looks like, Jason.

Niners not doing much with it.

I'm curious to see how Nate Hobbs fits in.

Uh- Ooh Pryceock, I'm excited to see.

What, what, what- We got breaking news, man.

Uh- Is it, is it the Kyle Pitts?

Terrion Arnold got released.

No, Terrion Arnold just got released, and that makes sense because he's on a million dollar bond.

But Adam Schefter sent out a tweet today that was kind of like, "Oh, this puts him on track, if he gets bonded out, to come back to training ca-" Training camp?

My dude, you're going to jail.

You better forget about football.

The Lions just released him.

Oh, oh.

Wait, the Lions just relea- Where you see that at?

Adam Schefter just tweeted it.

Oh, literally just tweeted.

The Lion, the Yeah.

L- Terrion Arnold- Wow released, and that makes sense.

But he sent out a tweet earlier today where he said, "Oh, it's a million dollar bond for Terrion Arnold, and if he makes it, he could still be on track for training camp."

Training camp?

He better be ready for jail camp.

He better be ready for the yard.

He's going to prison.

Like, there is no football in his future.

Like, that was ridiculous.

Allow, allow me to be the first to throw it out.

Should the Niners sign Terrion Arnold?

Terrion Arnold versus Henry Ruggs in a, in a longest yard game is going to feed families That was, that was, That, that, that headline of he was arrested and is gonna be charged with something that can place him in prison for life was just like, "Wait, what?"

Dude, the more you read, kidnapping, attempted robbery, going over there, I'm like, wait a minute, this is just getting worse.

Like, what on earth is going through your mind?

Dude, the one, the one that I couldn't believe was the, like, they live-streamed it to Terrion Arnold or something like that.

Yeah.

Like, I Dude, that, that is That- those are moves that tell me that it wasn't Terrion Arnold's first rodeo.

So, so for everybody that is calling number 11 a distraction and everything, just know that that is just silly social media antics.

Yeah.

That's a real distraction.

Terrion Arnold going to jail for that, that's a distraction.

Yeah.

That is something that could be way worse.

Like, I'll take Brandon Aiyuk saying a bunch of dumb shit on social media all day over that.

I really don't care about that, and I know for the 49ers they don't care either.

They're just allowing us to play ourself.

Yeah.

All right, Jason, we just went through every position group on the 49ers, kind of gave our thoughts on how deep we think each one is.

I enjoyed it.

I've missed you.

we're gonna get a little more consistent here- Well- as we're closer to the season what's, what's the deepest and the thinnest?

Let's make a prediction, 'cause I've got- I've got my, I've got my deepest, one.

I think deepest is wide receiver to me, and I, I'm gonna go thinnest the, the defensive line.

I, I, I, I'm not exactly thrilled with how it's lined up right now.

I think the top end is very good, with Osa, Bosa, Mykel Williams, but then beyond that, it's, it's just a lot of the same guys who if, if there's, like Like, no, no disrespect to Sammy Watkins or Keon White, very good rotational players, but if they're getting starting snaps, there's an issue.

Deepest is punter right now.

Yeah, that's okay.

'cause we have, we have two.

We have a lefty and a righty, so we have someone that can come out of the bullpen and get outs.

I think that is- that's important.

Um- Fight that thinnest is, thinnest is kicker because we only have one, at this point.

What happened, what happened to the days of, my kicker competition?

No, um- Yeah seriously, I do think that it is deepest is go- I'm gonna go with, quarterback.

and that's a little bit of a cop-out, but, that's where I'm going with that one.

And then thinnest, I'm scared for linebacker because of- Yeah like you said, hey, Dre Greenlaw has to stay, has to stay healthy and, you know, it's just You know, Garrott Walu did a bang-up job, but, you know, Eric Kendricks is probably on speed dial, but we don't wanna go down that road again.

So I, I got linebacker as the one that scares me the most.

You're, you're an injury or two away from it being really, really back to what it looked like last year, and that's no disrespect to Tatum Bethune, who I thought was doing the best that he could.

but, you know, you move Dee Winters, that clears the way for Nick Martin, but we, you know, again, a lot of large unknowns.

So thinnest is linebacker.

I'm gonna go, deepest is quarterback just because you've got two really good quarterbacks.

But like Andrew said, you know, I'd rather have just one that just plays the entire time, but thus, the world turns for the 49ers.

Jason, that'll do it for today's episode.

You got any final thoughts before we get out of here?

No, it's just good to be back, and we're gonna try to, you know, stay on schedule and everything as well too.

I, I'm gonna be honest, man, touching grass and, and, and, you know, and, and doing things that, you know, you know, apartments fixed up and, you know, hanging out with my kids and, and, you know, just, you know, catching up on shows, I've been enjoying myself.

I'm not gonna stress myself out, right now in June, July.

There's a lot of people on Niners Twitter that are replying to every single idiot Commanders fan.

I would implore you to put the phone down, please, and go do something, read a book, sing a song, ride a bike, go sit by the lake.

there's plenty of things that we can get upset about when the season starts and pads actually start popping, and there's no reason for you to be stressed, especially when there's Commanders fans booty clapping for, a wide receiver that is gonna do the same thing to them.

And, and you should listen to what T.J. Houshmandzadeh said about, Brandon Aiyuk, who he was really close with, on Speakeasy.

He kind of laid it out, and I think that that is the way that you should go.

Yeah.

Yep, definitely.

I, I like that.

That's good advice.

I did see the T.J. Houshmandzadeh thing.

Um- Dawson says touching great, touching grass is great, video games are great.

I'm, I'm a little- Brother, brother, I- Yeah I'm getting prepared to not touch grass 'cause College Football 27's about to drop, and, that's gonna take a lot of my time.

And once Wolverine drops, I don't even know if I'm gonna watch football.

Like once Wolverine dr- I'm just I, I am so locked in for that, it's insane.

That should, that should, that should be our bit this season, Jason- Yeah is we do a Niners podcast where none of us watch the games.

We just kind of- Yeah look at the score and be like, "Hey, saw what " You know?

We'd be, we'd be just as good as, like, Nick Wright and them.

I mean, they, they come up with a bunch of shit that doesn't make sense, and it, like- Stephen A. Smith you could tell that Stephen A. Smith, Stephen A. Smith, said that Charlie Kirk had seven catches in a, in a playoff game, and that, you know, I, I don't But yeah, Wolverine, look, we've got a lot to look forward to.

Spider-Man, Avengers, Dune- Mm-hmm Odyssey, Werewolf.

This, cinema is back, man.

Oh my God.

And I am not gonna let myself get passed by because there's been so many good movies.

And if you're out there looking for something, fellas, if you're looking for a movie to watch with your lady, Obsession is the perfect date movie because you guys will argue all the way home about it, but in- it's incredible, man.

Incredible movie.

Incredible.

And the, the actress, Indy Navarette, who, dare I say, I'm obsessed with, is a Niners fan.

Cool.

So please answer the message about joining the podcast and talking Niners football, because I'd love to get your thoughts about the 49ers moving forward because you are a Niners fan, and you were incredible in Obsession.

We'll pretend like that's the DM you sent Jason Aponte.

Jason Aponte- That's it as al- as always.

Let's go Niners.

Let's go Niners.

Bam.

Close