The San Francisco 49ers offseason program is officially over. Things couldn't have ended better for the defense, which dominated both days of the team's mandatory minicamp.
Robert Saleh's group followed up Tuesday's impressive showing with another standout performance on Wednesday. The first-team defense kept Jimmy Garoppolo and Co. out of the end zone for the duration of practice.
Here's what you need to know about the session.
1. Jerick McKinnon was a bright spot for an offense that struggled to find big plays. He beat Reuben Foster on a Texas route and took off for long touchdown. Later in the drive, McKinnon beat his man down the right sideline on a wheel route, but Jimmy Garoppolo overthrew him in the end zone.
2. The lone touchdown pass of the day came from third-stringer Nick Mullens. Mullens hit Cole Wick and Richie James on back-to-back deep passes down the middle of the field. Mullens then found Kendrick Bourne in the end zone for a touchdown.
3. The first-team offense wasn't able to move the ball at all during their drive that began in the red zone. On 3rd-and-goal from the 3-yard line, DeForest Buckner broke through the offensive line and sacked Garoppolo.
4. There were several near interceptions from the 49ers defense. D.J. Reed jumped a Beathard pass in the middle of the end zone. Korey Toomer stepped in front of two of Mullen's passes in the end zone as well. Unfortunately neither player was able to come away with a takeaway and had to settle for pass breakups.
5. Garoppolo saved his best throws for the final move-the-ball period. He made two impressive throws on essentially the same play design. Garoppolo rolled to his left following play action and hit Pierre Garçon and Aldrick Robinson for sizeable gains on two separate instances. Both throws were beautiful tear drops over the defense and into the arms of Garoppolo's intended targets.
6. When the first-team offense threatened to end practice with a touchdown, the defense once again stood tall. On 3rd-and-goal from the 8-yard line, Ahkello Witherspoon nearly intercepted Garoppolo's pass intended for Robinson in the back of the end zone. It put a nice bow on the defense's standout day.
7. It should be noted that the 49ers offense was without three of its top targets: Marquise Goodwin (back), Trent Taylor (back) and Dante Pettis (undisclosed injury). None of the three injuries are expected to be serious as each player should be ready for the start of camp.
