49ers release their unofficial depth chart: Thomas starts over Kinlaw at DT

The San Francisco 49ers released their first unofficial depth chart of the season ahead of their Week 1 matchup against the Cardinals. ESPN’s Nick Wagoner had a salient point about the depth chart: The coaching staff does not put it together, and it’s not very useful. We’re still going to discuss it, though. Let’s get right into it, starting with the offense. The starters are listed first, followed by who is backing them up.

Offense

WR: Deebo Samuel, Trent Taylor, Brandon Aiyuk

LT Trent Williams, Justin Skule

LG Laken Tomlinson, Colton McKivitz

C Ben Garland

RG Daniel Brunskill OR Tom Compton

RT Mike McGlinchey

TE George Kittle, Jordan Reed, Ross Dwelley, Charlie Woerner

RB Raheem Mostert, Tevin Coleman, Jerick McKinnon, Jeff Wilson Jr.

FB Kyle Juszczyk

QB Jimmy Garoppolo, Nick Mullens, C.J. Beathard.

The “OR” for right guard is the team playing cat and mouse, to me. Brunskill is your starter. Mostert had received the bulk of first-team carries during practice, while Bourne’s experience gave him the nod over Brandon Aiyuk. Remember, just because a player takes the field first doesn’t mean he won’t play as much as the starters. The depth chart is fluid, and two weeks from now, Aiyuk could very well be starting.

Reed made quite the impression, so him being listed as TE2 shouldn’t be a surprise. I can’t wait to see how much he’ll be used in this offense.

McKinnon will be your third-down back, but don’t rule out Coleman as he remains the best pass protector in the backfield.

Defense

LDE: Arik Armstead, Dee Ford

LDT: Solomon Thomas, Javon Kinlaw

RDT: D.J. Jones, Kentavius Street, Kevin Givens

RDE: Nick Bosa, Kerry Hyder Jr.

SAM: Dre Greenlaw, Mark Nzeocha

MIKE: Fred Warner, Azez Al-Shaair

WILL: Kwon Alexander, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles

LCB Richard Sherman, Jason Verrett

RCB: Emmanuel Moseley OR Ahkello Witherspoon

NB: K’Waun Williams

FS: Jimmie Ward, Tarvarius Moore

SS: Jaquiski Tartt, Marcell Harris

Moseley is starting. I’d put a paycheck on him not coming off the field Week 1.

I don’t know how much we should read into Thomas being listed as the “starter,” but we’ll find out in a couple of days. The likelihood of Solly playing more snaps in sub-packages than Kinlaw is high, so perhaps that’s why he’s listed as the starter.

The depth is much improved from a year ago. Even guys like Flannigan-Fowles were flying around at practice and making plays.

In 2019, the Cardinals ran 10 personnel—four wide receivers on the field—33%(!) of the time. I’m curious to see what the 49ers’ answer will be. Do we see Ward drop down into the slot with Williams as Tartt drops back? Or do we see Moore, who was excellent, playing in the slot during training camp? The 49ers will likely give the Cardinals plenty of different looks.