49ers Coaching Staff Releases Unofficial Depth Chart

by Fooch on Aug 4, 2008 5:58 PM PDT in News

Considering the 49ers have a game in a few days, a depth chart is certainly a useful tool. Of course, given the fact that several spots in the lineup are in the midst of heated competition, an unofficial depth chart can give us some strong clues about position battles.

Offense

Position	1st string	2nd string	3rd string	4th string
WR	Bryant Johnson	Jason Hill	Ashley Lelie	J. Morgan/C. Colvin
LT	Joe Staley	Damane Duckett	Joe Toledo	Ramiro Pruneda
LG	Adam Snyder	Brian De La Puente
C	Eric Heitmann	Cody Wallace
RG	Tony Wragge	Chilo Rachal	John Booker
RT	Jonas Jennings	Barry Sims	Alan Reuber
TE	Vernon Davis	Delanie Walker	Billy Bajema	C. Wallace/JJ Finley
WR	Isaac Bruce	Arnaz Battle	Dominique Zeigler	Jerard Rabb
QB	Alex Smith	Shaun Hill	J.T. O'Sullivan	Kyle Wright
RB	Frank Gore	DeShaun Foster	Michael Robinson	Thomas Clayton
FB	Moran Norris	Zak Keasey

First off, at the 49ers website, the 3 QBs are all listed under the #1 slot. I just split them out because of the lack of room in the single box.

Not a ton of surprises here. Based on what Maiocco and Barrows have described from practice, Zak Keasey has been getting most of the first team snaps. They list Norris first, but we'll learn more once the games get under way.

The only other real interesting spot is seeing Jason Hill leapfrogged over Ashley Lelie. I'd imagine much of that has to do with Lelie's injury, but it's definitely a precarious position. Additionally, Dominique Zeigler is ahead of Josh Morgan on the depth chart right now. If Morgan could pass Lelie, we could see some real youth at the end of the depth chart at wide receiver.

Defense

Position	1st string	2nd string	3rd string	4th string
DE	Isaac Sopoaga	Kentwan Balmer	Walter Curry
NT	Aubrayo Franklin	Ronald Fields	Joe Cohen	Atiyyah Ellison
DE	Justin Smith	Ray McDonald	LaJuan Ramsey	Louis Holmes
OLB	Manny Lawson	Jay Moore
MLB	Jeff Ulbrich	Brandon Moore	Larry Grant
MLB	Patrick Willis	Dontarrious Thomas	Dennis Haley
OLB	Parys Haralson	Tully Banta-Cain	Roderick Green
CB	Nate Clements	Donald Strickland	Tarell Brown	A. Rossum/M. Curry
CB	Walt Harris	Shawntae Spencer	Marcus Hudson	Reggie Smith
SS	Michael Lewis	Keith Lewis	Lewis Baker
FS	Mark Roman	Dashon Goldson	DJ Parker

Not too many surprises on defense. The "Ted" position remains a mystery beyond Jeff Ulbrich. The second team defense this Friday will tell us a lot about the middle linebackers. I'm not surprised Donald Strickland is ahead of Brown and Smith on the depth chart. Strickland has made some plays for the team and proven himself up to this point.

Special Teams

Position	1st string	2nd string	3rd string
K	Joe Nedney	Ricky Schmitt
P	Andy Lee	Ricky Schmitt
KR	Allen Rossum	Michael Robinson	Josh Morgan
PR	Allen Rossum	Arnaz Battle	Nate Clements
LS	Brian Jennings	Billy Bajema
Holder	Andy Lee	Arnaz Battle

All in all, not a whole lot of surprises in the various depth charts. I definitely think Ashley Lelie has his work cut out for him if he even wants to make the 53-man roster. He was limping after practice today from what he called "fatigue." Gonna be an interesting few weeks coming up.

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Comments

RE NN FFB leagues

Sorry to post this here but I wasn’t sure if you had seen the comments for that thread:
This is from the
-Niners Nation Fantasy Football League: It’s Game Time- thread

Hey Fooch What’s the deal? I thought they were going to have the leagues set @ the end of July.

www.sfbaywatching.com – daily news & commentary on all things Niners, Giants, Warriors, and Cardinal

by sven406 on Aug 3, 2008 1:04 PM PDT reply 0 recs

I second sven406 Where’s the leagues and emails? I signed up 4 or 5 days bfore deadline.

the second is from myself on Aug 4, 2008

by tanos135 on Aug 4, 2008 7:38 PM PDT reply reply 0 recs

apologies

I thought we’d have things done by now but things are a little held up. I’ll get an update as soon as possible. The league is still happening though so just gonna need a little patience. My apologies.

Niners Nation - The premier 49ers blog on the Internet!

by Fooch on Aug 4, 2008 10:20 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

Kyle Wright?

isnt he the guy from Univ. of Miami florida who had serious attitude issues?

maybe I’m “misremembering”

by Vote4Gore on Aug 4, 2008 9:11 PM PDT reply reply 0 recs

He did go to Miami

He’s also a local kid, played high school ball at either Monte Vista or San Ramon Valley. Never heard anything about his attitude problems though.

by methodrampage on Aug 5, 2008 2:12 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

My first reaction: Where’s Arnaz Battle???

My second reaction: Oh, there he is.

My third reaction: We don’t have any depth on the offensive line, do we? As much as Rachal sounds good, and as much as Sims has plenty of vetty time clocked, seeing our second string on paper kind of reveals how thin we still are there.

My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.

by howtheyscored on Aug 5, 2008 2:18 AM PDT reply reply 0 recs

Well...

Technically, RG would be shifted down one spot when Baas returns in September. I think that having two veterans (Wragge and Sims) and two young guys (Wallace and Rachal) as backups is some pretty solid depth. The concern should really be in the difference in production between the starters and the backups, which the 49ers seem to lack (and not in a good way). Hopefully the entire unit steps up and plays to their abilities (if not over their abilities) this season, as that unit is kind of the keystone of the entire operation.

by sfgfan on Aug 5, 2008 9:06 AM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

What about Haralson?

When I saw this, the one position that jumped out at me the most was the weakside outside linebacker. Parys Haralson is listed ahead of TBC. Halleluja! Not that Haralson is all that amazing a pass rusher, but TBC was terrible at that spot last year. This has to be the biggest coup on an otherwise predictable depth chart.

by Nineraguan on Aug 5, 2008 4:05 PM PDT reply reply 0 recs

Haralson

Well, coup may be an overstatement. Since OTAs, I think, Maiocco and Barrows have pointed out that the team liked what Haralson did toward the end of last year and that he would seriously challenge TBC this year.

If I’m looking for a “surprise,” I actually think (contrary to Fooch’s opinion) that Strickland’s spot on the depth chart is a little surprising. I would think that team would try to push someone like Hudson, Brown or Smith into that 4th corner spot. Hudson and Smith are similar to Strickland, in terms of skill set, but they have a little bit of an edge in terms of size and perhaps physical ability. I guess my bias for younger players (if they are of the same skillset) over older players shows here.

by sfgfan on Aug 5, 2008 4:28 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

younger players

You make a good point. I’d much prefer the younger folks. However, the way Nolan is playing the Roman/Goldson situation at free safety might indicate his mindset. On the one hand I’m not surprised Nolan goes with the veteran over the youngster. At the same time, when your job is online it might be worth the risk of bumping the younger guy ahead on the depth chart.

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by Fooch on Aug 5, 2008 5:08 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

It's still early

Veterans have a defaulted edge early on. Once things really get rolling I wouldn’t be suprised to see some younger guys jumping the veterans.

by methodrampage on Aug 5, 2008 6:57 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

You’re right in the sense that Haralson has been getting good press. The thing is, TBC has been getting good press too, and I figured the tie would go to incumbent starter (as is the case with Roman and Goldson)

The only reason I’m not particularly surprised about Strickland that he actually stands fairly low on the depth chart. Even though he’s listed as a second string CB, I don’t think you could technically call him the second stringer because if either Clements or Harris go down, Spencer would fill in. I think Strickland only gets in starting lineup if two CBs are injured, and even then I don’t think Strickland would get the start over Brown. Haralson, on the other hand, is on the field on this depth chart.

That being said, I wonder how many spaps Haralson would actually play considering Justin Smith will likely line up as the OLB for a substantial part of the game and the defense will likely come out in a Nickel for part of the game.

by Nineraguan on Aug 5, 2008 6:41 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs