The San Francisco 49ers are a week and a half away from the start of training camp, which means the downtime is just about set to come to a close. While we prepare for that, I came across a fun idea over at our Packers blog, Acme Packing Company. They had five of their writers rank out the team’s entire 88-man roster (indeed, they still have two spots available), and come up with a composite ranking. You’ll be stunned to learn that Aaron Rodgers finished in first place.
I spoke with ten of our contributors, and we each put together our rankings of the 49ers entire 90-man roster. It was a blind ranking, with each person submitting their rankings to me. I then created a composite ranking, which will be revealed over the next nine days, ten players at a time. After that is complete, I will post the individual rankings, along with comments from each voter on any particularly notable high or low ranked players. The voters included myself, Pat Holloway, James Brady, Tracy (49ersfangirl), Billy from the Nuggets, Jason Hurley, Greg Valerio, Oscar and David from Better Rivals, Alex Rubenstein who does video work for SB Nation, and Jennifer Chan.
Since this is entirely subjective, I did not provide a specific framework for voting. I simply told them to factor in injuries and the Lynch suspension, and figure it out from there. This could shuffle around plenty between now and the team’s final roster cuts. And so, here are the first ten.
90. Norman Price, OL (High: 75, Low: 90)
The 49ers signed Price as a UDFA out of Southern Mississippi following the 2016 NFL Draft. He received a $5,000 signing bonus, which was ninth out of the team’s first 12 UDFA signings. Price spent the offseason workout program playing left tackle with the third string offensive line. Joe Staley is starting at left tackle, while Erik Pears and Trent Brown are competing at right tackle. Draft picks John Theus and Fahn Cooper, as well as CFL addition Colin Kelly are among those likely ahead of Price in the competition.
89. Lenny Jones, OLB (High: 74, Low: 90)
The 49ers signed Jones as a UDFA out of Nevada following the 2016 NFL Draft. He received an $8,000 signing bonus and $5,000 in a salary guarantee. Aaron Lynch’s suspension opens the door for someone to claim an OLB roster spot, but Tank Carradine and Marcus Rush are most likely leading the competition for OLB depth behind Ahmad Brooks and Eli Harold.
88. John Lunsford, K (High: 74, Low: 90)
The 49ers signed Lunsford as a UDFA out of Liberty following the 2016 NFL Draft. He received a $5,000 signing bonus and another $5,000 in a salary guarantee. Phil Dawson has a fully guaranteed one-year contract, but Lunsford got the fifth most guaranteed money among the 49ers UDFAs. That’s at least moderately interesting.
87. Wynton McManis, ILB (High: 72, Low: 90)
The 49ers signed McManis as a UDFA out of Memphis after their initial 12 UDFA signings. The 49ers did not add an inside linebacker in the draft, leaving Michael Wilhoite, Gerald Hodges, and Ray-Ray Armstrong as the primary competitors for the ILB position. McManis is likely competing for a practice squad spot.
86. Je’Ron Hamm, TE (High: 68, Low: 89)
The 49ers claimed Hamm off waivers on December 30, 2015, following Washington’s decision to release him. He was inactive in his one game with the team. He played wide receiver in college, but was viewed as a tight end of h-back in the NFL. Given the inconsistency of Vance McDonald, Garrett Celek’s injuries, Blake Bell’s inexperience, and Bruce Miller’s recent conversion to tight end, there are some opportunities at the position for someone to surprise.
85. Blake Muir, OL (High: 72, Low: 88)
The 49ers signed Muir as a UDFA out of Baylor following the 2016 NFL Draft. He received an $8,000 signing bonus and $5,000 in a salary guarantee. The Australian native played third string left guard throughout the 49ers offseason workout program.
84. Demetrius Cherry, DL (High: 48, Low: 89)
The 49ers signed Jones as a UDFA out of Nevada following the 2016 NFL Draft. He received a $2,500 signing bonus. The 49ers defensive line is one of the deeper positions on the roster, so it leaves him pretty far back in the competition.
83. Garrison Smith, DT (High: 69, Low: 86)
The 49ers originally signed Garrison Smith to their practice squad on December 23, 2014. The 2014 UDFA then signed a reserve/future contract after the season, and eventually spent the entire 2015 season on the practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract following the season. I’ve heard players thought he looked good on the practice squad last season. The nose tackle position could be wide open if Ian Williams and Glenn Dorsey open training camp on the PUP list. Mike Purcell would likely be a favorite there, but there are enough questions that Smith could work his way into the mix while Williams and/or Dorsey are rehabbing.
82. Jered Bell, S (High: 52, Low: 89)
The 49ers signed Bell as a UDFA out of Colorado following the 2016 NFL Draft. He received a $2,500 signing bonus. The safety depth chart is another one with solid depth thanks to last year’s selection of Jaquiski Tartt. He’ll look to impress on special teams.
81. Darren Lake, DT (High: 55, Low: 88)
The 49ers signed Lake as a UDFA out of Alabama following the 2016 NFL Draft. He received a $4,000 signing bonus and $3,000 in a salary guarantee. Like Smith, he will compete for time at nose tackle, and would benefit if Williams and Dorsey open training camp on the PUP list. Has the solid size (6’2, 329) a team looks for in a nose tackle.