The San Francisco 49ers wrapped up their first practice of mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, and we have an intriguing development. We’ll have a full practice report from Jennifer Chan Wednesday morning, but in the meantime, Matt Barrows is reporting that UDFA safety Lorenzo Jerome got some work at nickel back.
An interesting development: Undrafted rookie Lorenzo Jerome, who has been the third-string free safety, took a lot of snaps as the second-string nickel cornerback on Tuesday. That's likely in part because first-string nickel cornerback K'Waun Williams in recovering from a minor injury and Will Redmond has been playing with the first string. But it also may be because Jerome has been impressive and coaches are wondering what else he can do. Don Jones was the third-team free safety. He paired with good-looking rookie Chanceller James.
The 49ers have been giving K’Waun Williams first team nickel back work, but an injury sidelined him on Tuesday. It sounds like he’ll be fine for training camp, but in the meantime, it opens the door for Jerome.
A UDFA has to do anything and everything to make an NFL roster. Special teams is the big key for many UDFAs, but having utility at several positions can be just as critical. And given the 49ers lack of depth at free safety, it opens the door for even more of an opportunity.
The 49ers have one more full practice before a day of meetings and then departing for the remainder of the offseason. It gives Jerome one more day to build some momentum for training camp. He could be the most intriguing of the players further down the depth chart.