1st & 10: Breaking Down the 49ers Initial 2024 53-Man Roster

[Music] hello and welcome to the 49ers first and 10 podcast 10 minutes of the most upto-date 49ers news first thing in the morning I'm your host ban McDonald and I'm with 49ers team reporter Lindsay poz and together we're going to break down the 49ers initial 53 man roster for the 2024 season introducing you to your 2024 guys and getting into the nitty-gritty going position by position Lindsay how you feeling pretty good um wanted to start and preface this with this is the roster as we had the list Tuesday afternoon by later today this could look a lot different and likely will because there's usually corresponding roster moves practice squad announcements all that coming so keep that in mind as we're going through this list yes stay tuned to 49ers.com we have all the information dropping immediately there but let's dive into it let's go into quarterbacks our quarterbacks for this year your qb1 Brock pie also Joshua dobs and Brandon Allen tell us about the decision to keep three on the roster this year this is a decision the 49ers have gone with now for three straight years and given that the NFL has implemented the emergency quarterback rule as of 2023 not surprising at all and also I wouldn't put too much stock into the order in which we're saying these names behind Brock pie neither Josh doobs or Brandon Allen have officially been named San Francisco's backup QB that decision is going to going to come from head coach Kyle Shanahan and we have not heard about it yet um one thing to note Josh dos is a newcomer to this group he has done a fair uh amount of jumping around the NFL uh this is I believe his fourth system in about a year's time uh but he's really shown his athletic ability and his ability to pick up this very complicated offensive scheme um in the opportunities that he saw in the preseason for Brandon Allen this is his second year with the 49ers and he's looking a lot more comfortable under Center and in the system and that's what we've heard from him throughout preseason and the training camp yeah with that qb2 spot still undefined what have you seen from Josh dobs and Brandon Allen in the preseason you know I think both are very capable quarterbacks and also Shanahan did a really good job of splitting up the opportunities evenly we saw a back and forth between Brandon Allen and Josh dos over the course of the preseason um so more to come there I'm assuming as we draw closer to the regular season we're going to have that decision of who the 49ers backup QB is coming very soon yep very soon now staying in the offense but moving on to our running backs and our one true fullback K use check we've got Christian mcaffrey Jordan Mason Patrick Taylor Jr and Isaac gendo I want to highlight Christian mcaffrey heading into 2024 he's coming off his offensive player of the year season what are your expectations for him this year I mean I think you just want him to copy paste right one of the most successful ful seasons in Christian McCaffrey's um you know NFL career and I think he was the NFL's rushing yards leader Triple Crown winner like you mentioned offensive player of the year I mean I don't think uh this is a stretch Christian mcaffrey is the gold standard of running backs and you just want to see more of that um you know over the course of training camp in the preseason he was dealing with the calf strain I think my understanding is if there was a regular season game today he would dress for it and play uh playing it but I think the 49ers want to be conservative and take care of you know their allp Pro running back um so we did see him beginning to rejoin practice um and do some Rehab on the sidelines he hasn't practiced in a while but that's always a sign that he's trending in the right direction so faithful I really wouldn't worry too much about him let's shine some light on the newcomers the rookie Isaac gandoo and then the fourth year Pro Patrick Taylor Jr how do you think they made this squad yeah so I think the decision on both those guys not very surprising either um we saw in a roster move earlier on Tuesday that Elijah Mitchell who was a rushing yards leader in 2021 was placed on season ending IR that made room for Patrick Taylor Jr and Isaac greno and Isaac greno is a rookie a fourth round pick um that really had limited opportunities in the preseason because of a hamstring injury uh he got one preseason outing and that was in that finale against the Raiders and he shined both in the ground game and also special teams I want to call attention to that 93 yard Dynamic kickoff return he owns a little piece of NFL history um so definitely welld deserving to that entire group yeah that was a special play by a special player now faithful your 2024 wide receivers Debo Samuel senior Ronnie Bell Brandon auk Ricky peera Jawan Jennings Chris Conley and Jacob coing the first round pick Ricky piol making the 53-man roster we didn't get to see him much in the preseason but what should we expect with him rejoining in the 2024 season yeah you know I think the expectation with any of San Francisco's draft picks especially a first round draft pick one that they haven't had in a while is that he's going to be an immediate contributor on this team I know that there's definitely a desire on Ricky piol uh to make those contributions he's been dealing with kind of a lingering shoulder injury so we'll see how the 49ers begin to really ease him back into practice he made his return on Monday he was in a blue non-c cont Jersey um so again I think it's going to be a slow progression for him of just getting him back up to speed and full go as he still is working on that shoulder and looking at this list of receivers who does stand out to you this year I mean who doesn't right um I think you know we're going to continue to see more really good things out of Jawan Jennings I think he's continued to build he had that contract extension in the off seon um you know a really great showing in Super Bowl 58 Chris Conley has been a really reliable practice squad player for the 49ers that hit the elevation limit in 2023 because he was such a team player that they had to you know activate him as injuries came about um and he's had a great Camp Jacob coing another fourth round pick for the 49ers that has been very successful in the preseason he also only had two preseason outings because of also a hamstring injury um and the 49ers are looking to him as a possible option at the punt returner position so really there's multiple ways that you could see Jacob Callen contributing in 2024 all right moving on to our tight ends Lindsay only two this year George KD and Jake tones tell me about that decision to keep only two I want to know your immediate reaction when you saw two on the list this year I wasn't expecting to only see two names on the list um last year there were four um this room looks completely different outside of George KD right he's your anchor your veteran your team captain um he's coming off a thousand plus yard season had six touchdowns in 2023 basically you want him to copy and paste his season as well um but a huge congratulations to Jake tonis he's a guy that spent last year 2023 on the practice squad and for all of our Bay Area people this is somebody that you can easily root for he is a cal Alum um and also grew up in lato so he's a local player um so huge huge congratulations all right next is the 49ers o line faithful you've got John Feliciano Nick zakel Jake brindle Aaron Banks Colton mckivitz Spencer berford Jaylen Moore and Dominic Poney walk us through the lineup here if week one's game Monday Night Football was tomorrow what would that starting line look like yeah so I think injuries definitely played a role in the group on the offensive line we had Aaron Banks who is typically the 49ers starting left guard he suffered a broken pinky during training camp so yeah if the season were to start today with all the information I've got um we would start with left tackle Jaylen Moore then we would have Nick zakel at left guard Jake brindle at Center then at Right Guard Dominic Poney and then at right tackle we would also have Colton mck kibbit that's the starting lineup we saw in the third preseason game again I am not Kyle Shanahan that lineup could look totally different um based on information that I don't know but if we're going off of the lineup that we saw against the Raiders it would be those five and how good was Dominic puny during the preseason tell us just how amazing he was during those first three preseason games yeah he was a pre-season standout for sure I think one of the biggest contributors from that 2024 draft class started at Right Guard in all three games did not give up a single sack so again huge congratulations to a rookie that that's definitely making a name for himself early yeah this is a special day for a lot of the rookies and newcomers to the team this year but moving on to defense we'll start up front at the dline we've got Robert Beal Jr Leonard Floyd Kevin given Sam okanu Jordan Elliott etor gr Matos Nick Bosa Javon Hargrave and Malik Collins now free agency was a big time for the dline during the 49ers offseason tell me just how much the Niners invested up front in that dline you know I think dline is where the $4 miners focused their efforts for that very first wave of free agency we saw them at Leonard Floyd Malik Collins Jordan Elliot etor gross MOS this was a really big point of emphasis for the 49ers who were looking to up their run defense in this coming season I think there's high expectations for Leonard Floyd as being the book end for Nick Bosa um and he has just a great history of being available this guy has not missed a regular season game in about six seasons I believe the streak is 108 games so if you're looking somebody that's going to be ready to contribute it's Leonard Floyd proven veteran and I think he's averaging just under 10 sacks a season for the last four years oh wow okay so we've got the most change to this group I think from 2023 into 2024 and probably the longest list out of all the position groups so how important is it to keep that dline fresh throughout the season yeah you know I think that is a really important part of how the 49ers play their dline they like to rotate players in and out to make sure that everyone's fresh not just throughout the season but in game um so you're very much going to see your starting lineup get refreshed mid game make sure everyone stays you know in good health for the duration of that football game so you're going to see all nine of these players contribute all right now moving on to our linebackers we've got Curtis Robinson Demitrius Flanigan fouls Tatum bethon D Winters Fred Warner and dandre Campbell senior Fred Warner headlines this group tell me about his leadership and how he's guided this group throughout training camp in the preseason now looking forward to 2024 yeah so Fred Warner is someone that we actually didn't see suit up a ton in the preseason but like you mentioned he is very much the leader of the linebacker group and also I would say quarterback of the defense right he is the one giving pregame speeches he gets everyone fired up um and you've heard a number of these players that are in this linebacker group that Fred Warner Drake green lies well are the gold standard for linebackers right they want to model their play their physicality after someone like Fred Warner who is a unanimous all proo linebacker one of only three players in the NFL that earned that unanimous title um so again just someone that is a great person to lead the room and really Embraces that role yeah and with the linebackers we've got a mix of veterans we got the leader Fred Warner some rookies in here and then and also some free agent additions so what do those newcomers bring to this group like dandre Campbell senior like Tatum bethon yeah I think they just bring fresh energy dandre Campbell is a veteran he was an allpro in 2021 he comes over to the Bay from the Green Bay Packers he he brings a lot of experience with him um I also wanted to highlight Curtis Robinson who has been a really reliable practice squad player for the 49ers in the past he makes his debut to the 53 man roster Tatum bethon really big contributor in the preseason a seventh round pick for the 49ers and he's making this roster um and from what I was looking at the defensive stats he actually led the 49ers in preseason tackles so another huge congratulations to another member of that 2024 draft class yeah something about those 49ers late round picks always Making Waves all right now moving on to the cornerbacks we've got charvarius Ward Ambry Thomas Isaac yadam derell lutter Jr Renardo Green in our defensive back diomo Lenor now with Nick senson coming in and leading the whole defense he's got a special eye on the cornerbacks and defensive backs what do you think his goal is with this group heading into 2024 you know I think one of the things that this group and general because Nick soron former passing game coordinator defensive passing game coordinator for the 49ers um I think all of these players are super familiar with him part of the reason that he was selected as the new defensive coordinator is because of that familiarity and also the ability to tie the back end of the defense to the defensive front um he brings a wealth of knowledge with him but I think he just wants this defensive back group this cornerbacks group to get after the ball he wants takeways that's something that we have seen him and several other coaches on the defensive side of the ball preach and the 49ers are very good at it so yeah think that's that you think that's been in ronard Green's ear throughout training camp in the preseason and maybe why he made this squad absolutely I think for all of these cornerbacks we've seen them pick up those pre-season uh turnovers and then also those interceptions during training camp practices so uh definitely a good energy with this group and we've seen it all throughout Camp amazing now staying in the defensive backfield but moving on to the safeties we've got Jer Brown taleno huanga George odm and Malik Mustafa any of the latest updates on taleno hu funga and what his injury status has been like yeah so taleno huanga is is working back from an ACL injury he suffered in week 11 of the 2023 season um he's definitely trending in the right direction the latest update we got is that he's been medically cleared to take the next steps in the process the 49ers are definitely being conservative and smart with him he's been allowed to be eased into practices but hasn't made that return just yet um so we'll hear more from head coach Kyle Shanahan what the plan is for him either way we've seen Jer Brown really step up in his absence he's a second-year player that is definitely looking to take on a bigger role in 2024 now what are some storylines that jump out to you when you look at this list of safeties oh man I don't know I mean you've got a physical tackler in Malik Mustafa we've seen that energy from him all of preseason all of training camp um I think George Odum is somebody definitely to watch out for he has really made a name for himself on the 49ers as a special team's Ace but he's also been working in him with Jer Brown all preseason all of training camp um with that starting defense so he's a he's a player to keep an eye out on all right finally last but not least our Specialists you've got your punter Mitch wisnowski your kicker Jake Moody and your Long Snapper Taber pepper Mr reliables of the 49ers um tell us about Moody and entering his sophomore season yeah you know I think Jake Moody you're going to just continue to see him become more comfortable in his role um this is really just specialist Trio back together really no surprises here um just wanting more of what Jake Moody gave us in his rookie season he made 60 of 61 extra point attempts and 21 of 25 field goal attempts in the 2023 regular season um Mitch wisnowski reliable Taber pepper super reliable um so we are just looking for more good things from our specialist Trail all right we've got three quarterbacks five running backs seven wide receivers two tight ends eight offensive linemen nine defensive linemen six linebackers six quarterbacks four safeties three Specialists that makes 53 men on the initial 53 man roster faithful thank you so much for tuning in today Lindsay thanks for joining me in breaking down this roster but subscribe to First and 10 for more 49ers updates and stay tuned [Music]