The San Francisco 49ers travel south in Week 4 to face the Los Angeles Chargers, and with that game comes a shake-up in the depth chart. The team’s PR department released the unofficial depth chart on Tuesday, and a slightly major move on Wednesday has resulted in a change.
The 49ers have placed Jimmy Garoppolo on injured reserve and promoted Nick Mullens from the practice squad. The initial unofficial depth chart listed C.J. Beathard as the starter and Garoppolo in brackets for his injury. I have removed him and added Mullens in. The team is sticking with two quarterbacks for the time being.
The PR department also formally moved Malcolm Smith into the SAM spot, Fred Warner into the MIKE spot, and Reuben Foster into the WILL spot. This is a formalization of what we’ve already seen. As long as Smith remains healthy, it looks like he’ll be the SAM the rest of the way, with Mark Nzeocha handling backup work.
The running back situation is currently listed as Matt Breida or Alfred Morris as the No. 1 running back. They are splitting the workload pretty evenly, but Breida is starting to emerge as the more successful back, leading the league in rushing yards and yards per carry. One has to wonder if at some point the 49ers will be willing to remove the “OR,” or if they think his success is built in part on having someone like Morris to offset his workload.
49ers offensive depth chart, Week 4 vs. Chargers
| Position | First | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| Position | First | Second | Third |
| WR | Pierre Garçon | Dante Pettis | Kendrick Bourne |
| LT | Joe Staley | Shon Coleman | |
| LG | Laken Tomlinson | Matt Tobin | |
| C | Weston Richburg | Erik Magnuson | |
| RG | Mike Person | Joshua Garnett | |
| RT | Mike McGlinchey | Garry Gilliam | |
| TE | George Kittle | Garrett Celek | Cole Wick |
| WR | Marquise Goodwin | Trent Taylor | Richie James Jr. |
| RB | Matt Breida OR | Alfred Morris | Raheem Mostert |
| FB | Kyle Juszczyk | ||
| QB | C.J. Beathard | Nick Mullens |
49ers defensive depth chart, Week 4 vs. Chargers
| Position | First | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| Position | First | Second | Third |
| LDE | Solomon Thomas | Cassius Marsh | |
| LDT | Earl Mitchell | D.J. Jones | |
| RDT | DeForest Buckner | Sheldon Day | |
| RDE | Arik Armstead | Ronald Blair III | Jullian Taylor |
| SAM | Malcolm Smith | Mark Nzeocha | |
| MIKE | Fred Warner | ||
| WILL | Reuben Foster | Elijah Lee | |
| LCB | Richard Sherman | Jimmie Ward | |
| RCB | Ahkello Witherspoon | Greg Mabin | Tarvarius Moore |
| NB | K'Waun Williams | ||
| FS | Adrian Colbert | D.J. Reed | |
| SS | Jaquiski Tartt | Antone Exum, Jr. | Tyvis Powell |
49ers special teams depth chart, Week 4 vs. Chargers
| Position | First | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| Position | First | Second | Third |
| P | Bradley Pinion | ||
| K | Robbie Gould | ||
| H | Bradley Pinion | ||
| PR | Trent Taylor | Dante Pettis | D.J. Reed |
| KOR | D.J. Reed | Matt Breida | |
| LS | Kyle Nelson |