Thuds and duds: C.J. West, Nick Bosa, Mac Jones shine in 49ers' padded practice

New York Times

5 days ago

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — A rookie defensive lineman — though perhaps not the one you're thinking of — and a veteran cornerback stood out in the padded one-on-one drills that began Monday and are one of the most anticipated parts of San Francisco 49ers training camp.
The Athletic had all the angles covered with Matt Barrows watching the linemen butt heads and Vic Tafur camped out on the other end of the field for the receivers and defensive backs. Monday's practice also featured several sessions of team-wide drills and the first lengthy move-the-ball period of the summer. The practice lasted nearly 1 hour and 45 minutes, making it the longest of the 2025 so far. The team will be back in pads Tuesday before a day off Wednesday.
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Here are the highlights:
• As far as the one-on-one drills, the main event was the heavyweight bout between the offensive and defensive linemen, which drew several senior members of the scouting staff, including general manager John Lynch.
In the initial matchup, Trent Williams escorted Nick Bosa around the edge and safely out of the play, a win for the left tackle and his only repetition in that drill. Bosa, however, would have his revenge in the team sessions later in practice, getting past Williams on at least two occasions and thwarting a play-action rollout on another. It was overall a strong day for Bosa.
• The onlookers likely were eager to watch first-round pick Mykel Williams and second-rounder Alfred Williams. But it was the fourth-round pick, C.J. West, who really jumped out. West clearly won four out of his five matchups, with the wins coming against backup center Matt Hennessy, backup guard Zack Johnson, starting guard Dominick Puni and rookie guard Drew Moss. The last repetition, against seventh-round pick Connor Colby, was more of a draw.
West's wins against Moss and Puni were particularly impressive for their violence. For example, West staggered Puni with a quick and powerful initial blow, then blew by him while Puni was trying to recover.
'I mean, he's like a little fire hydrant,' defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said of West. 'But he's powerful. He's got heavy hands. He's going to be fine. He's like a lot of rookies — there are so many things that they're learning, especially on the interior of the D-line where it's a game within a game. You know, the first thing they learn is pocket push, and then they learn how to capture an edge and rush from there. I wasn't there (to watch West). I heard he did a really nice job over there, but I'm excited to get to the tape to see it.'
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• One of the veteran defensive tackles also had an impressive first day in pads. Kalia Davis, who averaged 20 snaps in 13 games for the 49ers up front last season, showed an explosive first step and was too much for the offensive linemen to handle inside on the first day in pads. The 6-foot-2, 310-pound Davis was also able to hold his ground on the plays when he had two offensive linemen on him.
First day of pads 💥 pic.twitter.com/LBMt2qlMio
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) July 28, 2025
• Colby, the Iowa offensive lineman, looked good in the drill with wins against Collins, fellow rookie Sebastian Valdez and the draw with West. He's mostly been playing left guard in camp, but his matchup with West came at right guard. There was, however, a rather large asterisk to Colby's outing: He was blown off his feet and pancaked by an Evan Anderson bullrush on one of his reps.
• Another blocker who fared well included right tackle Colton McKivitz, who won his matchup against Bosa. Meanwhile, defensive end Bryce Huff's speed was on display in a win against backup right tackle Austen Pleasants.​​
Who didn't look so hot? Left tackles not named Trent Williams. Spencer Burford had a false start on his first repetition against Huff, then got a handful of Huff's facemask on the re-do. He also lost a matchup against defensive end Sam Okuayinonu, who beat him with a slick spin move. Third-string tackle Sebastian Gutierrez struggled in losses to Robert Beal Jr., Mykel Williams and Okuayinonu.
• On Sunday, cornerback Deommodore Lenoir mentioned how 'crafty' new teammate Demarcus Robinson was when he covered him in a game against the Kansas City Chiefs his rookie season. On Monday, the two went head-to-head in one-on-one matchups in what was a spirited battle.
On the first one, Lenoir mugged Robinson, who was surprised that the official on the near sideline didn't throw the flag. The official shrugged and Lenoir yelled out how they were in the first 5 yards from scrimmage. The next time, there was more contact down the field but Robinson was able to escape but not in time to pull in a back-shoulder throw.
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'I told him ever since that Chiefs game, I have never slept on him,' Lenoir said.
• Cornerback Dallis Flowers, who played for new assistant head coach Gus Bradley with the Indianapolis Colts, turned some heads. He tipped the ball to himself for an acrobatic interception against rookie Jordan Watkins in the one-on-ones and then showed some sticky coverage in the scrimmage sessions.
Saleh was singing his praises on the field after the interception.
'Surprised the rest of the DBs didn't jump up and down for him, man,' Saleh said. 'It was a really nice rep. He had perfect technique, put himself in good position to make a play, and he made it.'
• Monday's absentees included receivers Jauan Jennings (calf) and Jacob Cowing (hamstring), cornerback Renardo Green (hamstring), defensive end Tarron Jackson (neck) and defensive tackle Jordan Elliott, whose issue has not yet been disclosed. With Elliott out, Davis took most of the first-team reps next to Kevin Givens, although Anderson and Collins also were worked in during the long practice.
• Receiver Ricky Pearsall practiced more extensively than he did Sunday, his first day back from a lengthy hamstring injury. On Monday, he had a nice, sliding catch on a late-in-the-down Brock Purdy pass over the middle. Pearsall quickly popped to his feet to pick up some additional yardage. He also caught a short pass from Mac Jones. Another Purdy-to-Pearsall pass at the sideline was broken up by good-looking rookie Upton Stout, who may have climbed over the receiver's back to get the ball.
• Purdy's biggest play — and the longest of training camp so far — came when he hit George Kittle on a short pass to the right side. Kittle simply outran the defense, then held the ball up the last 10 yards to the delight of the fans seated on that end of the field. It was reminiscent of the long touchdowns Kittle scored in his then-record-breaking 2018 season.
A connection we love to see 🤩 pic.twitter.com/TVqiLdDJVc
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) July 28, 2025
Later, receiver Russell Gage Jr. made a dazzling, tumbling catch along the sideline over cornerback Tre Brown. There was some debate (among reporters) about whether Gage had come down in bounds but the official on hand ruled it a catch.
The rest of the session was tougher for Purdy, who had to deal with Bosa and with a wide receiving corps missing three of its top five players (Jennings, Brandon Aiyuk and Cowing). On one sequence during a move-the-ball period, Purdy was sacked by Bosa on one play and hurried by him on the next. The rushed throw was knocked in the air by safety Jason Pinnock and intercepted by linebacker Dee Winters. Purdy was 7-of-15 in team situations.
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• Fullback Kyle Juszczyk came down with a 30-yard catch over linebacker Fred Warner, but only got one foot inbounds. The ground that the linebacker closed was another example of what a special player Warner is, Juszczyk said.
'When the ball was in the air and I saw Fred was there, initially I thought there's no chance he even gets close,' he said. 'I'm like, all right, this is going to be easy. But by the time the ball got to me, Fred was right there and it became a contested catch. I think that is one of many examples of the difference between him and other linebackers.'
• Jones, meanwhile, continues to look solid in practice. He was 12-of-16, including a nicely thrown over-the-outside-shoulder pass down the right sideline to running back Patrick Taylor Jr., who's caught several intermediate and deep passes this camp. Third quarterback Tanner Mordecai was 7-of-11 in team drills.
• Though they were in pads, the 49ers' defenders still aren't allowed to tackle in practice. They are, however, allowed to 'thud' ball carriers. The biggest thud was delivered by Winters on backup runner Isaac Guerendo, who ended up sprawled on the ground. Winters has been one of the most impressive 49ers during non-padded practices. That he looked good in a more rough-and-tumble setting on Monday was another sign he's ready to take over for Dre Greenlaw at weakside linebacker.
• With Green (hamstring) out until mid-August, the 49ers' top cornerbacks to start practice were Lenoir and Brown on the outside and Stout at the nickel spot. However, Darrell Luter Jr. and Flowers worked at outside cornerback with Luter getting the most first-team snaps of the group. An undrafted rookie corner who's looked good in recent practices — Jakob Robinson. He broke up a pass to Gage during team drills.
• At safety, Pinnock and Ji'Ayir Brown had the most first-team snaps, although Richie Grant also took some repetitions opposite Pinnock.
• The team signed cornerback Eli Apple to a one-year deal and released receiver Quintez Cephus.
• One more addition to the roster: Millie Joleen Purdy. The 49ers quarterback and wife Jenna announced their daughter's birth on social media Monday morning.
A post shared by Jenna Purdy (@jennapurdyy)
(Top photo of Mac Jones: D. Ross Cameron / Imagn Images)