There’s no truer sign that the NFL season is a few weeks away from being a few weeks away than draft picks getting their first jersey numbers.
The 49ers on Monday issued numbers for their 2022 draft class, less than a week after their recently-signed veterans got theirs. Here are the numbers for this year’s draftees per NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco:
14, QB Brock Purdy
26, CB Samuel Womack III
32, RB Ty Davis-Price
36, CB Tariq Castro-Fields
63, OL Nick Zakelj
74, OL Spencer Burford
86, WR Danny Gray
93, DT Kalia Davis
95, DE Drake Jackson
There are a couple important notes here.
First, the 49ers letting another player wear Joe Staley’s No. 74 is pretty unexpected. That seemed like the kind of number that would get retired. It might still, but the team has de facto retired Frank Gore’s No. 21, and they should absolutely be doing the same with Staley’s jersey.
Second, these aren’t permanent numbers. There’ll likely be a handful of changes once final roster cuts are made and some jersey numbers come available. So for those rushing to buy a Brock Purdy jersey, it may be best to wait and see what his number is once the regular season begins.
