Tuesday provided our first glimpse of the 2017 San Francisco 49ers. The team, currently in its first week of organized team activities, opened its doors for media. One practice will be open to reporters for each of the next three weeks.
Here are a few notable happenings from the session.
1. Reuben Foster participated in individual drills and is being kept completely away from contact. He appears to be on schedule with his surgically-repaired shoulder, but the 49ers are going to exercise patience with their first-round pick.
2. Eli Harold (toe) and Arik Armstead (shoulder) were both full participants at practice.
3. It is vital to note that in regards to lineups, they will change on a near-daily basis, and therefore should be taken as cursory information rather than a predictor of the future. That said, Armstead played outside of DeForest Buckner throughout practice with the first group. Earl Mitchell and Garrett Celek were the other two names regularly getting first-team reps on the defensive line. Ahmad Brooks, NaVorro Bowman and Malcolm Smith were the linebackers. Eric Reid and Jimmie Ward were the safeties. Rashard Robinson and Keith Reaser were the corners. K'Waun Williams saw plenty of reps at nickel corner.
4. Kapri Bibbs and Tim Hightower both got loose for big runs during the session. Contact is minimal during OTAs but running backs will often get stuck in a crowd of defenders trying to knock the ball loose. Bibbs and Hightower were able to escape untouched into the secondary.
5. Mitchell and Armstead each had one would-be sack.
6. In the first round of 7-on-7, Pierre Garçon completed all of his passes. Two of those throws went to Jeremy Kerley over the middle.
7. Trent Taylor continues to show his skill set as a slot receiver. He had three receptions during a 7-on-7 period, each time showing his ability to create separation at the line of scrimmage.
8. Maybe the biggest passing play of the day was a completion from Hoyer to Marquise Goodwin. Hoyer hit Goodwin running left to right and gave his receiver room to run after the catch. Goodwin's speed took it from there.
9. Undrafted free agent safety Lorenzo Jerome recorded the lone interception of practice when he made a diving catch on a ball that was tipped his direction.
10. Shortly after Jerome's play, Smith made an impressive pass breakup on a ball down the middle of the field. Robinson and Don Jones also had PBUs on Tuesday.
11. Last year's first-round pick Joshua Garnett was seen at both right and left guard. He played right guard as a rookie and predominantly left guard at Stanford. Shanahan said post-practice that they'll continue to work Garnett at both spots to create versatility and see where he fits best.
