The San Francisco 49ers opened training camp on Saturday morning, a non-padded session at the SAP Performance Facility. Of note, the team will host its first padded practice of the year on Monday. Here are the top takeaways from Day 1.
1. Take what you will with a grain of salt, but the 49ers new and improved defensive line stood out during Saturday's session. (This is another reminder that this was a non-padded practice). Nick Bosa made his practice debut since missing San Francisco's OTAs with a tweaked hamstring. The 49ers first round pick got a "would-be" strip sack on Jimmy Garoppolo. Bosa saw reps with the second team at left defensive end. DeForest Buckner also picked up two would-be sacks of his own. Arik Armstead and Jullian Taylor also flashed in the backfield during 11-on-11 work.
2. Buckner and Solomon Thomas stood out against the run, each notching tackles for loss.
3. The day's top offensive highlight came on a deep cross route from Garoppolo to Jordan Matthews. Matthews' defender got tripped up, leaving him wide open for a big gain. Matthews, who is in competition in a congested receivers room, was perfect on the day, hauling in each of his three catches.
4. As anticipated, Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard saw even reps at backup quarterback.
5. Dre Greenlaw found himself across the line of scrimmage on multiple occasions. On the first play of camp, the rookie linebacker stuffed Tevin Coleman in the backfield. Greenlaw is expected to compete with veterans Malcolm Smith and Mark Nzeocha for the starting SAM linebacker job.
6. Deebo Samuel provided another top play for the offense. Mullens found Samuel over the middle, where the receiver turned on the jets and beat several defenders to the end zone. Samuel saw the bulk of his reps with the second team offense.
7. As expected, players coming off of injury saw limited reps. Kwon Alexander, Jason Verrett and Jalen Hurd were kept out of full-team drills.
8. The rookie hype machine is back! To kick it off, rookie offensive lineman Justin Skule got the crowd hype with the worm.
Tickets are still available, but going fast. Come join us! For information, visit 49ers.com/trainingcamp.
