The 49ers on Friday wrapped Day 8 of training camp with an atypically long session.
A long practice offered a handful of pretty intriguing observations from reporters at the team facility. Let’s take a look at some of those notes and why they matter:
A rookie TE emerges
Brayden Willis has caught a lot of passes recently. Light seems to be coming on for one of the 49ers’ rookie tight ends
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) August 4, 2023
Neither rookie TE has really popped through the first handful of practices, but the fact Willis has started emerging as a pass catcher is a good sign for him. Ultimately blocking is what will get a young tight end on the field. The club needs to find a better receiving option there though and the early returns are that Willis has a leg up on fellow rookie TE Cameron Latu in that area.
Deebo injury scare
#49ers Deebo Samuel gave everyone a scare when he jumped up for a touchdown pass (completed) from Brock Purdy and landed awkwardly. He stayed down in the field for a few moments before walking off under his own power.
— Jennifer Lee Chan (@jenniferleechan) August 4, 2023
This isn’t what the 49ers want to see. All accounts are this catch from Samuel was the play of the day, but the wide receiver staying down after the play wipes out some of the good vibes that come with a nice play. Samuel ultimately walked off on his own and returned to practice a short while later. Plays like this are bound to happen in football though, particularly in a longer practice. Thankfully for San Francisco they avoided a significant injury for their star wide receiver.
Massive workload for Brock Purdy
After my first error of camp, here are the updated and correct QB numbers for Practice 8:
Brock Purdy
11-on-11 reps: 32
Passing: 15-21, INTTrey Lance
11-on-11 reps: 22
Passing: 8-11Sam Darnold
11-on-11 reps: 22
Passing: 12-14Brandon Allen
11-on-11 reps: 12
Passing: 5-8— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) August 4, 2023
Purdy’s schedule got a slight change Thursday when he participated in full after just one day off. He’d previously received two days off after two days on. He backed up a Thursday practice with a huge workload Friday where he took all 32 first-team reps and threw 21 passes during the team portion of practice. If he’s able to practice Saturday to make it three days in a row after a ton of reps Friday would point toward him being as fully healthy as he can be at this point.
Jake Moody misses from DEEP
There's no possible way you can carry on with your day without this #49ers kickers update:
🏈 Jake Moody was 3-for-4 with makes of 33, 43 and 39. His was was just short from 63 yards.
🏈 Zane Gonzalez was 3-for-3, hitting from 43, 48 and 54.— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) August 4, 2023
The 49ers rookie kicker continues to look great in practice. His lone miss Friday was a 63-yard try that was on line, but short. It’s probably okay with San Francisco if the rookie kicker isn’t quite good from 60-plus yards yet. Although if he can get there at some point it would be a nice extra club in their bag late in halves.
Trey Lance improving on layups
– Lance's miscues were mostly timing related where he didn't get to his check down quick enough and ended up throwing late or having to tuck and run.
– Short area still a work in progress but easy to see improvement in other areas, particularly from accuracy standpoint of late.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) August 4, 2023
There isn’t a more significant development for Lance than improving on his short and intermediate throws. His increased efficiency in the intermediate areas (10-19 yards beyond the line of scrimmage) is a great sign for his growth in an offense that can feast in that part of the field. Now he has to see a similar jump on shorter throws, where he continues to struggle. If he can start hitting short throws with touch and accuracy it’s going to be really difficult for the club to justify keeping the former No. 3 overall pick off the field.
