49ers snap count vs. Broncos: NaVorro Bowman leads defense, Trenton Brown leads offense

The San Francisco 49ers made it through their "dress rehearsal" preseason game, and we did indeed see the starters get a lot of work. The starters played the entire first half, with some of them getting additional work into the third quarter. This meant players on the back-end of the roster fighting for roster spots were the ones taking the biggest hit on snaps. This game might give us some indications on roster cuts. There could be different explanations for different low snap counts, but it gives us a starting point. You can view the gamebook here.

On defense, Lawrence Okoye and Kaleb Ramsey both only got four snaps on the night, while Garrison Smith got six, coming late in the game. I could see the team releasing both players with hopes of getting at least one of them to the practice squad. The defensive line has a lot of depth this year, and it is going to cost some pretty talented players.

Extra work for Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith meant the bottom end of the wide receiver depth chart got less work. DiAndre Campbell, Chuck Jacobs and Nigel King each got four snaps, and it appears Mario Hull and Dres Anderson did not play. At this point, I think the 49ers are hoping to slip the speedy Anderson to the practice squad.

NaVorro Bowman was tied for the lead in defensive snaps. After the game, he and Jim Tomsula said the plan was for him to go 10 snaps, seven more than last week, and see how he felt. Clearly Bowman felt good, as he went a team high 42 snaps, and looked really good throughout.

The 49ers continue to get Trenton Brown a lot of snaps. He and Patrick Miller led the offense with 32 snaps. While he has had some hiccups along the way, Miller has looked solid in the preseason. He is not a lock for the roster, but I would be surprised if he was not on the roster. The bigger question might be when does he push Erik Pears for that right tackle job?