The San Francisco 49ers have plenty of work to do leading up to the 2017 NFL Draft, but in the meantime, April 10 is a big date on the calendar. The 49ers will return on that date to Santa Clara to start the offseason workout program. Players can currently use the strength and conditioning facilities and do rehab, but other than general observation from a strength coach, they cannot work with the coaches.
The 49ers could have started the program this week if they wanted. Teams with a new head coach can start as soon as today, April 3. The Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers elected to take advantage of that and start now. The 49ers, Denver Broncos, and Los Angeles Rams will all start on April 10.
The 49ers decided to wait a week because head coach Kyle Shanahan wanted to give his coaches an extra week to prepare. Considering the coaching staff did not come together until the middle of February, it makes sense. The 49ers were the last to hire their coaches, and with an almost entirely new coaching staff, and a whole new offense and defense to install, extra time helps.
The 49ers could have gotten their playbooks to players sooner with an April 3 start, but I can see the value of getting the coaches that extra week. The first two weeks of the program will be strength and conditioning work, with a minicamp planned a week before the draft. That minicamp is when they’ll finally get into field work, and not just some basic throwing and whatnot. One could argue the first two weeks of the program are the most exciting, least exciting time of the year. It’s a return to the football field, but not actual football. But hey, we’ll take it!