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

We're back for another look at the 49ers snap count. This time we break down the third game, often viewed as the dress rehearsal for the regular season.

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?

Player Offense Defense ST
Trenton Brown 32 3
Patrick Miller 32 2
Ian Silberman 30 3
Brandon Thomas 28 1
Joe Looney 28 1
Blaine Gabbert 28
Quinton Patton 27 8
Blake Bell 23 5
Alex Boone 23 1
Erik Pears 23 1
Joe Staley 23 1
Vernon Davis 23
Anquan Boldin 23
Colin Kaepernick 23
Marcus Martin 23
Torrey Smith 21
Andrew Tiller 20 1
Mike Davis 19 6
Xavier Grimble 18 5
Kendall Hunter 18
DeAndrew White 16 2
Garrett Celek 14 5
Bruce Ellington 14 2
Issac Blakeney 12
Busta Anderson 11 2
Jordan Devey 9 4
Jarryd Hayne 8 9
Carlos Hyde 6 3
Bruce Miller 4
Dillon Farrell 4
DiAndre Campbell 4
Chuck Jacobs 4 2
Nigel King 4
Dylan Thompson 4
Reggie Bush 3
Jerome Simpson 2
Kendall Gaskins 1 14
Corey Lemonier 42 17
Kenneth Acker 42 12
Eric Reid 42 6
NaVorro Bowman 42 2
Antoine Bethea 42 2
Eli Harold 39 13
Shayne Skov 36 10
Keith Reaser 36 5
Arik Armstead 36 3
Aaron Lynch 36 2
Michael Wilhoite 36 2
Mike Purcell 34 3
Dontae Johnson 33 12
Shareece Wright 30 10
Jaquiski Tartt 29 11
Tank Carradine 29 1
Steve Beauharnais 28 1
Marcus Cromartie 25 17
Quinton Dial 25 4
Leon McFadden 23 1
Jermaine White 21
Jimmie Ward 20 6
Tony Jerod-Eddie 20 3
Marcus Rush 19 1
L.J. McCray 16 15
Glenn Dorsey 15 2
Shawn Lemon 14
Ian Williams 12 2
Darnell Dockett 12
Nick Bellore 6 17
Garrison Smith 6
Kaleb Ramsey 4 2
Mylan Hicks 4 1
Lawrence Okoye 4
Bradley Pinion 14
Kyle Nelson 10
Trey Millard 8
Sean Hooey 3
Phil Dawson 3
Corey Acosta 3
Justin Renfrow 2