The San Francisco 49ers head to training camp next week, and that means we are just over three weeks away from the first preseason game. We’ll get training camp reports for those first two weeks, and then we’ll get to see players in action. Fans have already started attaching themselves to particular rookies and other under-the-radar players who are unlikely to make the team. They expect big things, and when they do something of note in camp or a preseason game, it will only serve to strengthen the bond between fan and random player.
And so, it is time to once again consider the potential KSWOFs. For those who have not been around the past few years, KSWOF stands for KORY SHEETS WAS OUR FUTURE. Back in 2009, the 49ers signed Purdue running back Kory Sheets as an undrafted free agent. He did some solid work in the preseason and earned a spot on the practice squad. He was later released and that led to a user with the name KORY SHEETS WAS OUR FUTURE writing up the greatest/worst FanPost in the history of the site. He blamed a mafia conspiracy on Sheets getting signed off the squad by the Dolphins, and wrote his FanPost in all caps.
Since then, it has become a running joke that UDFAs and other low level players are said be our future. And each year, it is fun to try and figure out who will emerge as that player. It generally cannot be a draft pick, instead someone who is much further off the radar. It usually is a rookie, but we can definitely expand that for previous UDFAs that are still a ways down the depth chart. Here are some of the potential candidates:
WR Devon Cajuste
S Jered Bell
DL Demetrius Cherry
LB Jason Fanaika
CB Prince Charles Iworah
OLB Lenny Jones
DT Darren Lake
LB Wynton McManis
K John Lunsford
OL Blake Muir
OL Norman Price
WR Bryce Treggs
WR DiAndre Campbell
OLB Marcus Rush
NT Garrison Smith
TE Busta Anderson
WR Dres Anderson
Given the 49ers OLB issues with Aaron Lynchs suspended, I can see an argument that Marcus Rush shouldn’t be on the list. Prince Charles Iworah is a draft pick, but as a seventh round pick, his roster chances are not great, aside from special teams.
I think the biggest candidates are Devon Cajuste, Bryce Treggs, and Darren Lake. Cajuste is a talented pass catcher, and could get a variety of looks in training camp. Treggs is getting work as a returner on top of his receiver work, and a big return in a preseason game will open it up big time. And given the injuries to Ian Williams and Glenn Dorsey, Lake will likely get a lot of opportunities in the preseason.
Who are your early KSWOF favorites?
And for those wondering, Kory Sheets played two years with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL, earning the Grey Cup MVP award in 2013. He then signed with the Oakland Raiders in 2014, but tore his Achilles that following August. He had a tryout with the Ottawa Redbacks in February, but nothing appears to have come of that.