The San Francisco 49ers’ heavy investment in the undrafted free agent class has provided the roster with an infusion of much-needed extra talent.
The San Francisco 49ers were widely praised for their efforts in a 2017 NFL Draft, in which they netted two premier defenders in Solomon Thomas and Reuben Foster. What many may have missed, however, was the caliber of the class of undrafted free agents they brought in, for which they are already paying dividends.
Among the raft of undrafted free agents the 49ers brought in were running back Matt Breida, who posted the top SPARQ score for any player at his position in the 2017 class, an extremely athletic tight end in Cole Hikutini and a talented safety in Lorenzo Jerome who racked up 18 interceptions in his college career at FCS school St Francis.
And each of that trio, along with receivers Victor Bolden Jr. and Kendrick Bourne and another safety in Chanceller James, all have a shot of making Kyle Shanahan’s 53-man roster as the 49ers rebuild their roster following two dreadful seasons. Should any of this group make the roster, it will not be by default or due to a lack of talent at their positions. To the contrary, they will have earned their spot after consistently impressing in camp.
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Breida has arguably been the star of the show among the UDFAs. He gave his defensive colleagues fits in the 49ers open practice at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday, breaking off big plays in both the run and the pass game.
The weekend’s performance came after ESPN’s Adam Schefter told a fantasy football podcast, per Niners Nation, that Breida is going to make the roster. Should he do so, Breida will provide a versatile change-of-pace option in the backfield. But Hikutini, Bolden and Bourne would certainly appear to have tougher routes to the roster.
Hikutini’s athleticism has seen him cause problems for linebackers in camp. However, per Kevin Jones of KNBR, the former Louisville tight end has been too inconsistent to rely on and Jones believes the 49ers may be forced to stick with a tight end in Vance McDonald, who they admitted to trying to trade during the draft.
Bolden and Bourne are seemingly in a battle for a possible sixth and final receiver spot on the roster and both have made explosive plays in camp. An ex-Oregon State Beaver, Bolden is a smaller receiver who would give the 49ers a speedier option while Bourne — overshadowed by Cooper Kupp at Eastern Washington — offers more size at 6-1.
However NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco tipped second-year player Aaron Burbridge to make the roster in his first projection because of his play on special teams. The emergence of DeAndre Smelter, a physical 6-2 receiver who excels in making contested catches, has also given Shanahan more to think about at receiver.
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Jerome and James have a clearer path to the roster given the lack of depth at safety behind Jimmie Ward and Eric Reid and both have caught the eye consistently with their performances.
Playing strong safety, James, per Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee, has filled the intimidator role on the back end well, having regularly delivered big hits in practice. Jerome has also been keen to make his physical presence felt at free safety but it is his instincts, which saw him record the latest of many camp interceptions on Tuesday, that have garnered him the most praise.
Speaking after Monday’s practice, defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, per Niners Nation, heaped praise on Jerome and his instincts.
"“He’s an instinctual football player. Sometimes I look at the tape and I’m like, ‘I don’t know if you can do that, bud.’ But he always ends up in the same spot. He has a good feel, and again he’s a rookie and he’s going through and he needs all the reps, and he needs to see it over and over again. He’s been doing alright.”"
Jerome’s lack of size and his poor physical attributes — he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds — undoubtedly hurt his draft stock. But the 49ers may be willing to overlook those deficiencies to give a shot to a player who has demonstrated a natural feel for the game.
The new regime made room for their slew of UDFA signings by trimming a lot of fat at positions such as running back and receiver — Mike Davis, DuJuan Harris, Torrey Smith and, more recently Bruce Ellington cut from the team — while veteran Antoine Bethea’s release presented an opening at safety.
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And those decisions and the faith the 49ers have shown in UDFAs appear poised to be rewarded. Breida and Jerome in particular are in strong positions to make the roster and this is a UDFA crop that seems set to add some much-needed talent to a San Francisco team starved of it in recent years.