Roster Projection (kind of)

[Crimsoncrew]

Maiocco's take:

49ers: The battle for 53 roster spots | CSN Bay Area

38 locks, 14 looking good. If that bears out, only one spot left. Crazy deep roster.

 

[deep9er]

Maiocco's take:

49ers: The battle for 53 roster spots | CSN Bay Area

38 locks, 14 looking good. If that bears out, only one spot left. Crazy deep roster.

and what looks like a tough battle for the PS too? the main reason being so many draft picks were made, even after deleting IR's.

 

[DoobieKeebler]

I usually have a huge amount of respect for Maiocco, but he's a friggin asshat if he thinks Johnson isn't a lock at the WR position.

 

[Jikkle]

I would think Blake Costanzo should be in the "looking good" category as well considering the team brought him in knowing full well what he brings to the table and is an ST specialist.

 

[deep9er]

I usually have a huge amount of respect for Maiocco, but he's a friggin asshat if he thinks Johnson isn't a lock at the WR position.

Explanation: You might be wondering why Johnson is not a “lock.” With a $3.65 million base salary, he must have a good camp to justify the 49ers awarding him the No. 3 role over one of the younger players. Lloyd had a good offseason program, but he must prove capable of suiting up on a weekly basis and making a contribution. Osgood is in competition with a few defensive players for a spot on special teams.


his contract doesn't have.....didn't have.....guarantees?

IF not, then the above explanation isn't so unreasonable. it would make perfect sense to keep another 'younger' guy if Johnson doesn't distinguish himself.

 

[deep9er]

Quinton Dial is "looking good", but if its only based on practicing end of last season, and OTA's....... doesn't seem like much basis?

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Ok, I'm gonna give this a shot. Predicting the roster for the first game.

Offense - 24

QB - 2
Colin Kaepernick, Blaine Gabbert
Really no suspense here. It would be something of a shock if this group looked any different.

RB - 6
Frank Gore, Bruce Miller, Kendall Hunter, Carlos Hyde, Marcus Lattimore, LaMichael James (Trey Millard, IR)
The first tough call, but I'm going with reports that James has looked very good fielding punts this offseason. He's very much on the bubble, but he doesn't have much trade value and there's a fair chance Hunter departs next year, so we keep him.

WR - 5
Anquan Boldin, Michael Crabtree, Stevie Johnson, Quinton Patton, Bruce Ellington
Lloyd may make a push, but at the end of the day, we need to be grooming replacements, not working with reclamation projects. Lloyd's only chance is if he beats out Johnson and/or proves to be the best deep threat among the WRs.

TE - 3
Vernon Davis, Vance McDonald, Derek Carrier
The first surprise of sorts, with Carrier beating Celek. Carrier is much more of a receiver than a blocker, but McDonald should be developing into a sound blocker (and had better show improvement as a receiver), and with Davis somewhat questionable for the future, we shift our focus to a guy who could be a legit receiving threat going forward.

OL - 8
Joe Staley, Mike Iupati, Daniel Kilgore, Alex Boone, Anthony Davis, Marcus Martin, Joe Looney, Jonathan Martin (Brandon Thomas, IR)
No real questions over the first seven spots. I think J. Martin beats out Snyder for the eighth due to his youth, but there's no guarantee. He's got a lot to prove, but he's versatile enough and talented enough to be a better version of Snyder. I wouldn't be shocked if one of the other guys clawed their way into the swing tackle spot, though.

Defense - 25

DL - 6
Justin Smith, Glenn Dorsey, Ray McDonald, Tank Carradine, Tony Jerod-Eddie, Quinton Dial (Ian Williams, PUP)
I don't have a ton of faith in Dial, but he can back up the NT spot and we used a fifth-round pick on him last year. Frankly, I think Dobbs might be able to start on several NFL teams, but TJE seems to have passed him in the lineup. Williams has been slow to recover from the injury, and starts on PUP. Tempted to keep seven here, but maybe we do once Williams returns.

OLB - 4
Ahmad Brooks, Corey Lemonier, Dan Skuta, Aaron Lynch (Aldon Smith, suspension)
I'm fudging here a bit with an Aldon suspension - which I think is probably four games. The first three are clear choices, particularly as Skuta and Lemonier play STs. Lynch is really on the bubble once Aldon returns, but if he can flash before then, I think he sticks.

ILB - 4
Patrick Willis, Chris Borland, Michael Wilhoite, Nick Moody (Navorro Bowman, PUP)
I know they love Costanzo and just brought him back, but Moody is younger, cheaper, more athletic, and was a STs dynamo in college. He also has more potential to be a starter or at least a serviceable backup at some point. I think he gets the nod. As of now, I don't see room for Skov, but he might make the PS. Given the STs contributions, I'd love to keep a fifth player at this spot once Bowman returns, but it would have to come at the expense of Lynch or one of the safeties, probably.

CB - 5
Tramaine Brock, Chris Culliver, Chris Cook, Darryl Morris, Dontae Johnson (Keith Reaser, IR)
As of now, I can't see Kenneth Acker making the squad, though he has a decent shot. CB seems as good a position as any to go heavy at, as no one is a proven commodity. But I list Ward as a safety, and expect him to play a lot of CB, so it's almost like I'm keeping six. I wouldn't be surprised to see us try to add a vet after cuts, either.

S - 6
Eric Reid, Antoine Bethea, Jimmie Ward, Craig Dahl, CJ Spillman, Bubba Ventrone
I went heavy here for a couple reasons. First, I expect Ward to effectively be playing CB. I initially had Dahl as a cut, but if we lose one of the starting safeties, Dahl would be first off the bench. Though if Morris continues to impress out of the slot, we could see him take over at nickel and Ward play safety, in which case Dahl could be in serious trouble. Second, this position has two of our STs stalwarts in Spillman and Ventrone.

ST - 3
Andy Reid, Phil Dawson, Kevin McDermott
No mystery here.

PS - 8
QB Kory Faulkner - he needs some grooming, but he's got size, athleticism, and Harbaugh seems to like him.
OT Carter Bykowski - big, physical guy who could potentially play all four exterior OL positions.
DT Caleb Ramsey - he's a huge injury risk, but if healthy, he's got the potential to be very good.
CB Kenneth Acker - a CB with size, as Culliver and Cook are FAs next year.
LB Shayne Skov - I think there's a decent chance he gets picked up, but he went undrafted so there's a chance he winds up here.
TE Kevin Greene - a bit of a surprise here, but he's got great physical tools and has a shot to give us another deep threat at TE when/if Vernon leaves in a couple years.
S James McCray - he's got good SS size, apparently pretty good ball skills, and might offer something on STs in the future, if nothing else.
DT Lawrence Okoye - why not? IF he shows progress at DL, give him another year of regular practice to put it all together. I booted WR Chuck Jacobs to make room for Okoye; I like Jacobs, but he's highly unlikely to be a special player. The same is certainly true of Okoye, but the potential is tantalizing.

Honestly, the biggest questions will probably come as our players start to return from injury/suspension. This initial roster wasn't TOO hard, though I'm sure some will disagree with me in some spots.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Explanation: You might be wondering why Johnson is not a “lock.” With a $3.65 million base salary, he must have a good camp to justify the 49ers awarding him the No. 3 role over one of the younger players. Lloyd had a good offseason program, but he must prove capable of suiting up on a weekly basis and making a contribution. Osgood is in competition with a few defensive players for a spot on special teams.


his contract doesn't have.....didn't have.....guarantees?

IF not, then the above explanation isn't so unreasonable. it would make perfect sense to keep another 'younger' guy if Johnson doesn't distinguish himself.

Guarantees only in the form of a signing bonus, which didn't transfer with his contract. The Bills had to cover the guaranteed money. We could cut him if we were so inclined. Though having traded a minimum of a 4th round pick for him, I can't see us doing it.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Quinton Dial is "looking good", but if its only based on practicing end of last season, and OTA's....... doesn't seem like much basis?

He's looking good because he was a 5th round pick last year, and absent the nagging injury could have gone higher. DL is going to be a dog fight this offseason. Should be fun to see how it shakes out. But in a young, drafted player, uncertainty can help as much as hurt.

 

[DoobieKeebler]

Explanation: You might be wondering why Johnson is not a “lock.” With a $3.65 million base salary, he must have a good camp to justify the 49ers awarding him the No. 3 role over one of the younger players. Lloyd had a good offseason program, but he must prove capable of suiting up on a weekly basis and making a contribution. Osgood is in competition with a few defensive players for a spot on special teams.


his contract doesn't have.....didn't have.....guarantees?

IF not, then the above explanation isn't so unreasonable. it would make perfect sense to keep another 'younger' guy if Johnson doesn't distinguish himself.

I know you recognize Johnson isn't that old because you put "younger" in quotations, but I don't see Johnson's age being an issue that keeps him off the team.

Just for reference, I listed the Niners receivers and the ages they'll hit before the end of the 2014 season.

Osgood turned 34 in May
Boldin turns 34 in October
Lloyd turns 33 in July
Johnson turns 28 in July
Reed turned 27 in March
Crabtree turns 27 in September
Wylie turns 26 in September (I like Wylie and hope he catches on with a team somewhere)
Jacobs turned 24 in May
Baldwin turns 24 in August
Patton turns 24 in August
Ellington 23 turns in August


If a gun was to my head, I would still say Johnson is a lock to make the team. He would have to have a meltdown of Barret Robbins or Latrell Sprewell proportions in order for him to miss the roster. If anyone gets dropped due to age, it'll be Lloyd. Even though Johnson is getting paid over 3.5 mil this season, I think the team would try to restructure way before thinking about cutting him.

 

[deep9er]

He's looking good because he was a 5th round pick last year, and absent the nagging injury could have gone higher. DL is going to be a dog fight this offseason. Should be fun to see how it shakes out. But in a young, drafted player, uncertainty can help as much as hurt.

if these are enough justification, then why isn't Aaron Lynch "looking good"?

why isn't Jon Baldwin "looking good", he was a 1st round pick which IS higher?

what i was leaning to is........................without much 'game time' or 'padded practice time' on Dial, how do you determine he's "looing good" for the 53? we've all read how strong our DL depth is right now.

 

[Xponentialchaos]

Ok, I'm gonna give this a shot. Predicting the roster for the first game.

Offense - 24

QB - 2
Colin Kaepernick, Blaine Gabbert
Really no suspense here. It would be something of a shock if this group looked any different.

RB - 6
Frank Gore, Bruce Miller, Kendall Hunter, Carlos Hyde, Marcus Lattimore, LaMichael James (Trey Millard, IR)
The first tough call, but I'm going with reports that James has looked very good fielding punts this offseason. He's very much on the bubble, but he doesn't have much trade value and there's a fair chance Hunter departs next year, so we keep him.

WR - 5
Anquan Boldin, Michael Crabtree, Stevie Johnson, Quinton Patton, Bruce Ellington
Lloyd may make a push, but at the end of the day, we need to be grooming replacements, not working with reclamation projects. Lloyd's only chance is if he beats out Johnson and/or proves to be the best deep threat among the WRs.

TE - 3
Vernon Davis, Vance McDonald, Derek Carrier
The first surprise of sorts, with Carrier beating Celek. Carrier is much more of a receiver than a blocker, but McDonald should be developing into a sound blocker (and had better show improvement as a receiver), and with Davis somewhat questionable for the future, we shift our focus to a guy who could be a legit receiving threat going forward.

OL - 8
Joe Staley, Mike Iupati, Daniel Kilgore, Alex Boone, Anthony Davis, Marcus Martin, Joe Looney, Jonathan Martin (Brandon Thomas, IR)
No real questions over the first seven spots. I think J. Martin beats out Snyder for the eighth due to his youth, but there's no guarantee. He's got a lot to prove, but he's versatile enough and talented enough to be a better version of Snyder. I wouldn't be shocked if one of the other guys clawed their way into the swing tackle spot, though.

Defense - 25

DL - 6
Justin Smith, Glenn Dorsey, Ray McDonald, Tank Carradine, Tony Jerod-Eddie, Quinton Dial (Ian Williams, PUP)
I don't have a ton of faith in Dial, but he can back up the NT spot and we used a fifth-round pick on him last year. Frankly, I think Dobbs might be able to start on several NFL teams, but TJE seems to have passed him in the lineup. Williams has been slow to recover from the injury, and starts on PUP. Tempted to keep seven here, but maybe we do once Williams returns.

OLB - 4
Ahmad Brooks, Corey Lemonier, Dan Skuta, Aaron Lynch (Aldon Smith, suspension)
I'm fudging here a bit with an Aldon suspension - which I think is probably four games. The first three are clear choices, particularly as Skuta and Lemonier play STs. Lynch is really on the bubble once Aldon returns, but if he can flash before then, I think he sticks.

ILB - 4
Patrick Willis, Chris Borland, Michael Wilhoite, Nick Moody (Navorro Bowman, PUP)
I know they love Costanzo and just brought him back, but Moody is younger, cheaper, more athletic, and was a STs dynamo in college. He also has more potential to be a starter or at least a serviceable backup at some point. I think he gets the nod. As of now, I don't see room for Skov, but he might make the PS. Given the STs contributions, I'd love to keep a fifth player at this spot once Bowman returns, but it would have to come at the expense of Lynch or one of the safeties, probably.

CB - 5
Tramaine Brock, Chris Culliver, Chris Cook, Darryl Morris, Dontae Johnson (Keith Reaser, IR)
As of now, I can't see Kenneth Acker making the squad, though he has a decent shot. CB seems as good a position as any to go heavy at, as no one is a proven commodity. But I list Ward as a safety, and expect him to play a lot of CB, so it's almost like I'm keeping six. I wouldn't be surprised to see us try to add a vet after cuts, either.

S - 6
Eric Reid, Antoine Bethea, Jimmie Ward, Craig Dahl, CJ Spillman, Bubba Ventrone
I went heavy here for a couple reasons. First, I expect Ward to effectively be playing CB. I initially had Dahl as a cut, but if we lose one of the starting safeties, Dahl would be first off the bench. Though if Morris continues to impress out of the slot, we could see him take over at nickel and Ward play safety, in which case Dahl could be in serious trouble. Second, this position has two of our STs stalwarts in Spillman and Ventrone.

ST - 3
Andy Reid, Phil Dawson, Kevin McDermott
No mystery here.

PS - 8
QB Kory Faulkner - he needs some grooming, but he's got size, athleticism, and Harbaugh seems to like him.
OT Carter Bykowski - big, physical guy who could potentially play all four exterior OL positions.
DT Caleb Ramsey - he's a huge injury risk, but if healthy, he's got the potential to be very good.
CB Kenneth Acker - a CB with size, as Culliver and Cook are FAs next year.
LB Shayne Skov - I think there's a decent chance he gets picked up, but he went undrafted so there's a chance he winds up here.
TE Kevin Greene - a bit of a surprise here, but he's got great physical tools and has a shot to give us another deep threat at TE when/if Vernon leaves in a couple years.
S James McCray - he's got good SS size, apparently pretty good ball skills, and might offer something on STs in the future, if nothing else.
DT Lawrence Okoye - why not? IF he shows progress at DL, give him another year of regular practice to put it all together. I booted WR Chuck Jacobs to make room for Okoye; I like Jacobs, but he's highly unlikely to be a special player. The same is certainly true of Okoye, but the potential is tantalizing.

Honestly, the biggest questions will probably come as our players start to return from injury/suspension. This initial roster wasn't TOO hard, though I'm sure some will disagree with me in some spots.

I like it.

I would prefer to see Costanzo instead of Ventrone though.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

if these are enough justification, then why isn't Aaron Lynch "looking good"?

why isn't Jon Baldwin "looking good", he was a 1st round pick which IS higher?

what i was leaning to is........................without much 'game time' or 'padded practice time' on Dial, how do you determine he's "looing good" for the 53? we've all read how strong our DL depth is right now.

That logic doesn't hold for Baldwin, who wasn't a draft pick by this FO. Additionally, he was on the active roster all last year with little impact to show for it. And as far as Lynch goes, it's a fair question. Frankly, I think how Lynch looks depends heavily on how Aldon's suspension looks. But he's also got serious off-field questions which make him harder to predict. Even if he plays pretty well, his attitude might prevent him from making the squad.

It might be a stretch to say Dial is looking good to make the roster at this point. I see him as having no better than a 50/50 shot. But I think he'll have a leg up on a guy like Dobbs, at least in part because he's almost $1 million cheaper. I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see him get cut, though.

 

[luckyluke22]

Aren't you short (@52 players) one player for the 53 man roster? Or is that the Smith/Bowman spot?

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Aren't you short (@52 players) one player for the 53 man roster? Or is that the Smith/Bowman spot?

You're right, I missed a guy. Sweet! Ok...I guess I'd probably keep Dobbs at DL. Other options would be adding Costanzo or Osgood. And if the Davis holdout becomes an issue, I think Lloyd becomes more likely to stick.

 

[deep9er]

Guarantees only in the form of a signing bonus, which didn't transfer with his contract. The Bills had to cover the guaranteed money. We could cut him if we were so inclined. Though having traded a minimum of a 4th round pick for him, I can't see us doing it.

ahhh, forgot about the 4th rounder.

then ok, Johnson would have to be really lousy to not make the 53.

 

[deep9er]

That logic doesn't hold for Baldwin, who wasn't a draft pick by this FO. Additionally, he was on the active roster all last year with little impact to show for it. And as far as Lynch goes, it's a fair question. Frankly, I think how Lynch looks depends heavily on how Aldon's suspension looks. But he's also got serious off-field questions which make him harder to predict. Even if he plays pretty well, his attitude might prevent him from making the squad.

It might be a stretch to say Dial is looking good to make the roster at this point. I see him as having no better than a 50/50 shot. But I think he'll have a leg up on a guy like Dobbs, at least in part because he's almost $1 million cheaper. I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see him get cut, though.

ok, now this is more sensible than your previous post.

but then again, the above reads left, right, left, right, left...........

 

[supreme_clientele81]

Ok, I'm gonna give this a shot. Predicting the roster for the first game.

Offense - 24

QB - 2
Colin Kaepernick, Blaine Gabbert
Really no suspense here. It would be something of a shock if this group looked any different.

RB - 6
Frank Gore, Bruce Miller, Kendall Hunter, Carlos Hyde, Marcus Lattimore, LaMichael James (Trey Millard, IR)
The first tough call, but I'm going with reports that James has looked very good fielding punts this offseason. He's very much on the bubble, but he doesn't have much trade value and there's a fair chance Hunter departs next year, so we keep him.

WR - 5
Anquan Boldin, Michael Crabtree, Stevie Johnson, Quinton Patton, Bruce Ellington
Lloyd may make a push, but at the end of the day, we need to be grooming replacements, not working with reclamation projects. Lloyd's only chance is if he beats out Johnson and/or proves to be the best deep threat among the WRs.

TE - 3
Vernon Davis, Vance McDonald, Derek Carrier
The first surprise of sorts, with Carrier beating Celek. Carrier is much more of a receiver than a blocker, but McDonald should be developing into a sound blocker (and had better show improvement as a receiver), and with Davis somewhat questionable for the future, we shift our focus to a guy who could be a legit receiving threat going forward.

OL - 8
Joe Staley, Mike Iupati, Daniel Kilgore, Alex Boone, Anthony Davis, Marcus Martin, Joe Looney, Jonathan Martin (Brandon Thomas, IR)
No real questions over the first seven spots. I think J. Martin beats out Snyder for the eighth due to his youth, but there's no guarantee. He's got a lot to prove, but he's versatile enough and talented enough to be a better version of Snyder. I wouldn't be shocked if one of the other guys clawed their way into the swing tackle spot, though.

Defense - 25

DL - 6
Justin Smith, Glenn Dorsey, Ray McDonald, Tank Carradine, Tony Jerod-Eddie, Quinton Dial (Ian Williams, PUP)
I don't have a ton of faith in Dial, but he can back up the NT spot and we used a fifth-round pick on him last year. Frankly, I think Dobbs might be able to start on several NFL teams, but TJE seems to have passed him in the lineup. Williams has been slow to recover from the injury, and starts on PUP. Tempted to keep seven here, but maybe we do once Williams returns.

OLB - 4
Ahmad Brooks, Corey Lemonier, Dan Skuta, Aaron Lynch (Aldon Smith, suspension)
I'm fudging here a bit with an Aldon suspension - which I think is probably four games. The first three are clear choices, particularly as Skuta and Lemonier play STs. Lynch is really on the bubble once Aldon returns, but if he can flash before then, I think he sticks.

ILB - 4
Patrick Willis, Chris Borland, Michael Wilhoite, Nick Moody (Navorro Bowman, PUP)
I know they love Costanzo and just brought him back, but Moody is younger, cheaper, more athletic, and was a STs dynamo in college. He also has more potential to be a starter or at least a serviceable backup at some point. I think he gets the nod. As of now, I don't see room for Skov, but he might make the PS. Given the STs contributions, I'd love to keep a fifth player at this spot once Bowman returns, but it would have to come at the expense of Lynch or one of the safeties, probably.

CB - 5
Tramaine Brock, Chris Culliver, Chris Cook, Darryl Morris, Dontae Johnson (Keith Reaser, IR)
As of now, I can't see Kenneth Acker making the squad, though he has a decent shot. CB seems as good a position as any to go heavy at, as no one is a proven commodity. But I list Ward as a safety, and expect him to play a lot of CB, so it's almost like I'm keeping six. I wouldn't be surprised to see us try to add a vet after cuts, either.

S - 6
Eric Reid, Antoine Bethea, Jimmie Ward, Craig Dahl, CJ Spillman, Bubba Ventrone
I went heavy here for a couple reasons. First, I expect Ward to effectively be playing CB. I initially had Dahl as a cut, but if we lose one of the starting safeties, Dahl would be first off the bench. Though if Morris continues to impress out of the slot, we could see him take over at nickel and Ward play safety, in which case Dahl could be in serious trouble. Second, this position has two of our STs stalwarts in Spillman and Ventrone.

ST - 3
Andy Reid, Phil Dawson, Kevin McDermott
No mystery here.

PS - 8
QB Kory Faulkner - he needs some grooming, but he's got size, athleticism, and Harbaugh seems to like him.
OT Carter Bykowski - big, physical guy who could potentially play all four exterior OL positions.
DT Caleb Ramsey - he's a huge injury risk, but if healthy, he's got the potential to be very good.
CB Kenneth Acker - a CB with size, as Culliver and Cook are FAs next year.
LB Shayne Skov - I think there's a decent chance he gets picked up, but he went undrafted so there's a chance he winds up here.
TE Kevin Greene - a bit of a surprise here, but he's got great physical tools and has a shot to give us another deep threat at TE when/if Vernon leaves in a couple years.
S James McCray - he's got good SS size, apparently pretty good ball skills, and might offer something on STs in the future, if nothing else.
DT Lawrence Okoye - why not? IF he shows progress at DL, give him another year of regular practice to put it all together. I booted WR Chuck Jacobs to make room for Okoye; I like Jacobs, but he's highly unlikely to be a special player. The same is certainly true of Okoye, but the potential is tantalizing.

Honestly, the biggest questions will probably come as our players start to return from injury/suspension. This initial roster wasn't TOO hard, though I'm sure some will disagree with me in some spots.

I would keep Dobbs and let him play TE/DE have Carrier go on the PS. With that extra spot keep one of the ST Aces. I would cut Dahl and keep Acker. Johnson has size and may can double as Safety.

 

[deep9er]

Ok, I'm gonna give this a shot. Predicting the roster for the first game.

Offense - 24

QB - 2
Colin Kaepernick, Blaine Gabbert
Really no suspense here. It would be something of a shock if this group looked any different.

RB - 6
Frank Gore, Bruce Miller, Kendall Hunter, Carlos Hyde, Marcus Lattimore, LaMichael James (Trey Millard, IR)
The first tough call, but I'm going with reports that James has looked very good fielding punts this offseason. He's very much on the bubble, but he doesn't have much trade value and there's a fair chance Hunter departs next year, so we keep him.

WR - 5
Anquan Boldin, Michael Crabtree, Stevie Johnson, Quinton Patton, Bruce Ellington
Lloyd may make a push, but at the end of the day, we need to be grooming replacements, not working with reclamation projects. Lloyd's only chance is if he beats out Johnson and/or proves to be the best deep threat among the WRs.

TE - 3
Vernon Davis, Vance McDonald, Derek Carrier
The first surprise of sorts, with Carrier beating Celek. Carrier is much more of a receiver than a blocker, but McDonald should be developing into a sound blocker (and had better show improvement as a receiver), and with Davis somewhat questionable for the future, we shift our focus to a guy who could be a legit receiving threat going forward.

OL - 8
Joe Staley, Mike Iupati, Daniel Kilgore, Alex Boone, Anthony Davis, Marcus Martin, Joe Looney, Jonathan Martin (Brandon Thomas, IR)
No real questions over the first seven spots. I think J. Martin beats out Snyder for the eighth due to his youth, but there's no guarantee. He's got a lot to prove, but he's versatile enough and talented enough to be a better version of Snyder. I wouldn't be shocked if one of the other guys clawed their way into the swing tackle spot, though.

Defense - 25

DL - 6
Justin Smith, Glenn Dorsey, Ray McDonald, Tank Carradine, Tony Jerod-Eddie, Quinton Dial (Ian Williams, PUP)
I don't have a ton of faith in Dial, but he can back up the NT spot and we used a fifth-round pick on him last year. Frankly, I think Dobbs might be able to start on several NFL teams, but TJE seems to have passed him in the lineup. Williams has been slow to recover from the injury, and starts on PUP. Tempted to keep seven here, but maybe we do once Williams returns.

OLB - 4
Ahmad Brooks, Corey Lemonier, Dan Skuta, Aaron Lynch (Aldon Smith, suspension)
I'm fudging here a bit with an Aldon suspension - which I think is probably four games. The first three are clear choices, particularly as Skuta and Lemonier play STs. Lynch is really on the bubble once Aldon returns, but if he can flash before then, I think he sticks.

ILB - 4
Patrick Willis, Chris Borland, Michael Wilhoite, Nick Moody (Navorro Bowman, PUP)
I know they love Costanzo and just brought him back, but Moody is younger, cheaper, more athletic, and was a STs dynamo in college. He also has more potential to be a starter or at least a serviceable backup at some point. I think he gets the nod. As of now, I don't see room for Skov, but he might make the PS. Given the STs contributions, I'd love to keep a fifth player at this spot once Bowman returns, but it would have to come at the expense of Lynch or one of the safeties, probably.

CB - 5
Tramaine Brock, Chris Culliver, Chris Cook, Darryl Morris, Dontae Johnson (Keith Reaser, IR)
As of now, I can't see Kenneth Acker making the squad, though he has a decent shot. CB seems as good a position as any to go heavy at, as no one is a proven commodity. But I list Ward as a safety, and expect him to play a lot of CB, so it's almost like I'm keeping six. I wouldn't be surprised to see us try to add a vet after cuts, either.

S - 6
Eric Reid, Antoine Bethea, Jimmie Ward, Craig Dahl, CJ Spillman, Bubba Ventrone
I went heavy here for a couple reasons. First, I expect Ward to effectively be playing CB. I initially had Dahl as a cut, but if we lose one of the starting safeties, Dahl would be first off the bench. Though if Morris continues to impress out of the slot, we could see him take over at nickel and Ward play safety, in which case Dahl could be in serious trouble. Second, this position has two of our STs stalwarts in Spillman and Ventrone.

ST - 3
Andy Reid, Phil Dawson, Kevin McDermott
No mystery here.

PS - 8
QB Kory Faulkner - he needs some grooming, but he's got size, athleticism, and Harbaugh seems to like him.
OT Carter Bykowski - big, physical guy who could potentially play all four exterior OL positions.
DT Caleb Ramsey - he's a huge injury risk, but if healthy, he's got the potential to be very good.
CB Kenneth Acker - a CB with size, as Culliver and Cook are FAs next year.
LB Shayne Skov - I think there's a decent chance he gets picked up, but he went undrafted so there's a chance he winds up here.
TE Kevin Greene - a bit of a surprise here, but he's got great physical tools and has a shot to give us another deep threat at TE when/if Vernon leaves in a couple years.
S James McCray - he's got good SS size, apparently pretty good ball skills, and might offer something on STs in the future, if nothing else.
DT Lawrence Okoye - why not? IF he shows progress at DL, give him another year of regular practice to put it all together. I booted WR Chuck Jacobs to make room for Okoye; I like Jacobs, but he's highly unlikely to be a special player. The same is certainly true of Okoye, but the potential is tantalizing.

Honestly, the biggest questions will probably come as our players start to return from injury/suspension. This initial roster wasn't TOO hard, though I'm sure some will disagree with me in some spots.

was just wondering how many rookies made it in this scenario? seven (7) rookies NOT counting the three IR's, is on this 53.

granted Bowman, Aldon, and Ian are not counted yet.

btw - love our new Punter.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

was just wondering how many rookies made it in this scenario? seven (7) rookies NOT counting the three IR's, is on this 53.

granted Bowman, Aldon, and Ian are not counted yet.

btw - love our new Punter.

Hahahaha. Yeah, no idea how that happened. Brain was a little fried today....