Golden Nuggets: Training camp officially begins

Wednesday, July 25th, 2018 edition of the Golden Nuggets, a daily compilation of San Francisco 49ers links from the Internet

By Billy Kerr@bkerr725 Jul 25, 2018, 2:00am PDT

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Football is right around the corner. Training camp starts tomorrow and the optimism around the team is high. Most of that comes down to Jimmy Garoppolo. This season will the 1st time that he enters the season as the starting quarterback. He will be putting his flawless win-loss record as a starter on the line. While he is a major part of the optimism around the team, the offense was upgraded around him. Running back Jerick McKinnon was signed to give Jimmy a passing threat out of the backfield. Rookie receiver Dante Pettis could be a good weapon to have for Jimmy’s disposal. The team drafted Mike McGlinchey and signed Weston Richburg to protect their prized asset.

While the team was building the offense around Jimmy, one thing that he didn’t need to build this offseason was his confidence. In a Bleacher Report profile, Jimmy confirmed that he believed he was a better player than Tom Brady. Tom is widely recognized as one of, if not the best quarterback the NFL has ever had. Most players think they are better than the players they are competing with, but it is interesting to hear Jimmy say he is better than Tom, one of the best to ever play. That confidence should excite 49ers fans, but Jimmy has a long way to go to back it up. If he is anywhere as good as Tom, the 49ers are in a great position moving forward.

There are a few training camp battles to look forward to. The best of the bunch should be at the wide receiver spot. Pierre Garcon is the recognized #1 receiver and Marquise Goodwin is the #2, but the 49ers have a plethora of receivers that could battle for the spots behind them. Pettis, Trent Taylor, Kendrick Bourne, Aldrick Robinson, and others will battle for the affection and passes from Jimmy. Another good battle should be for the right guard spot blocking for Jimmy. Joshua Garnett, who is back from missing last season due to injury, and Jonathan Cooper, who was signed as a free agent, will both have opportunities to win the starting job. During the offseason program, Joshua had more of the 1st team reps, but he’s a long way from winning the opening game starting job.

49ers links

Should move up as the season progresses | Fantasy team ranking (Loechner)

That should always be the 49ers goal |Super Bowl or bust (Inman)

Secondary rankings (Renner)

If he is healthy, he definitely is | Sherman still a top 15 corner (McGuinness)

Training camp preview (Neumann)

Garoppolo and Brady (Vrentas)

No big surprise there | Jimmy G is not short on confidence (Williams)

A bunch of good battles | Top training camp battle (Fann)

A battle to watch for | Slot receiver battle (Maiocco)

Another good battle | Right guard (Maiocco)

If I’m Kyle, I’m calling the Falcons | Pursuing Julio Jones (Almquist)