The San Francisco 49ers are into their rookie minicamp, and while there might be a few roster changes here and there, most of the 90-man roster is just about set. The team has 56 players in for tryouts during rookie minicamp, and of course they have their 18 undrafted free agents, ten draft picks, and four additional players who still qualify. You can review the whole list of rookie minicamp participants here.
Now that we know most of the rookies that will be competing for roster spots in July and August, 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.
Sheets ended up excelling in the CFL in 2012 and 2013, looking like one of the best running backs they had. He signed with the Oakland Raiders only to tear his Achilles. He recently tweeted that he was looking to potentially make a comeback in the CFL.
However, since his brief time with the 49ers 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.
Can we consider someone like K.D. Cannon or Lorenzo Jerome, when there is already a lot of chatter that they have a decent chance of earning a roster spot? Do you go a little further down? Running back Matt Breida has a chance at a roster spot thanks to the roster turnover, but it feels like a running back or quarterback makes the most sense since they can accumulate counting stats with a lot of third and fourth quarter preseason playing time.
We don’t know which tryout candidates might earn a roster spot, but you’re welcome to point out one of them that tickles your fancy. But from this list, who would be your choice at this point?