Eight things that have caught my eye after eight 49ers’ practices

SANTA CLARA Eight things that caught my eye through eight practices of ers training camp Mac Jones is not a stationary target The new backup for Brock Purdy lasted until No in the first round of the NFL Draft in part because of a -yard dash time He rarely ran at Alabama which grows NFL caliber receivers on trees and has yards rushing in and a yards per carry average in games and starts with New England and Jacksonville Purdy by contrast had yards in games last season alone While Jones isn t as nifty as Purdy he hasn t been shy about taking free yards when given the opportunity When discussing his mobility Friday Jones invoked another famous albeit fictional Alabama athlete I guess everyone thinks I m really slow Jones disclosed I look like Forrest Gump out there Jones -foot- pounds stated he s worked on his speed and quickness and quarterbacks coach Mick Lombardi has stressed taking the free five yards on first down after going through his reads It makes it easier on Kyle Shanahan to call the challenge like first-and- to second-and- instead of second-and- Jones declared Getting the cheap yards has been good The stars have played like stars Nick Bosa George Kittle and Fred Warner are having very strong camps and if younger players are playing follow the leader as expected it s a good sign Bosa was dominant Friday and Kittle has been the entire camp His connection with Purdy is uncanny As for Warner he made up so much ground the other day on a deep pass to Kyle Juszczyk it stunned the Pro Bowl fullback When the ball was in the air and I saw no one was there I thought there was no chance initially he even gets close Juszczyk reported I thought this is going to be easy But by the time the ball got to me Fred was right there for a contested catch I think that is one of multiple examples of the difference between him and other linebackers Considering we saw almost nothing of McCaffrey a year ago when Achilles tendinitis entered the ers daily vernacular to see him running and receiving on Aug is a welcome sight Revolving door at receiver Offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak tried his best to paint the absences of Brandon Aiyuk rehab Jauan Jennings calf and Ricky Pearsall staggered practice schedule in a positive light because it offered opportunities to others Aiyuk won t be ready in the early part of the season Jennings status is not known and hopefully for the ers not tied to ongoing contract extension negotiations Pearsall at least had a very good day Friday I think towards the end of the last season you saw Ricky come out his shell he was playing within our system and timing so he is going to continue to learn who he is as a receiver and what his strengths are and I m going to continue to learn with him and that excites me Purdy declared The ers await a decision on an anticipation suspension for Demarcus Robinson after pleading no contest to DUI They re likely going to be without the performer who has been the best receiver in camp for two or three games Jacob Cowing hamstring has missed valuable time after being injured during the first practice and will return the week preceding the ers second exhibition meeting against the Raiders Big week upcoming for Nick Martin Upton Stout Martin a third-round pick out of Oklahoma State is a smallish but explosive -foot- -pound weak side linebacker Stout - is getting plenty of work at slot corner They ve looked good in pads so far but a bigger test will come when the ers have joint practices with Denver heading into their Aug preseason opener Watching from a distance in the stands seeing Stout standing alongside - -pound tackle Alfred Collins is almost comical Upton he is a straining scrappy young man don t fall asleep on his size defensive coordinator Robert Saleh declared I mean the guy plays way bigger than he is and way bigger than he looks Martin appears to be running behind Dee Winters who is having an excellent camp in his bid to replace Dre Greenlaw but Saleh likes that he sees One thing we re not worried about with him is his violence getting off a block and understanding how to get to the football Saleh noted He just has to continue mastering the scheme to give himself the opportunity to play fast Cornerback Renardo Green has been sidelined with a hamstring strain and the ers' depth at the position has been strained Dai Sugano Bay Area News Group Cornerback conundrum With Renardo Green hamstring and Deommodore Lenoir hip not practicing it s been mix and match at cornerback with Darrell Luter Trey Brown Siran Neal Trey Avery Chase Lucas and fresh signee Eli Apple in the mix Dallis Flowers who had games and five starts in three seasons in Indianapolis has made specific plays as had undrafted free agent Jakob Robinson Brown and Flowers got their chance with the first association Friday We ve been rotating a bunch of guys giving different guys opportunities to go in with the ones and we ll continue that all the way throughout training camp Saleh reported If the ers don t have either Green or Lenoir ready to go Week they ll be perusing the waiver wire Sizing up the defensive tackles Rookie C J West described as a fire hydrant by Saleh at - continues to have an impressive camp He s outplaying second-rounder Alfred Collins but they don t play with the same style West had a strong day Friday in both blocking drills an crew sessions He s limping a bit with an ankle injury but keeps taking the field something coaches love Collins to be fair missed all of OTAs with a calf injury so he s a little behind and more of a roadblock than penetrator He was a second-round pick out of Texas The safety race Jacob Pinnock had an interception of Purdy Friday and looks to be a Week starter barring injury Ji Ayir Brown had a scheduled day off but noted he feels light years ahead of where he was a year ago Brown had an interception in Super Bowl LVIII but had a nerve injury in his shoulder on a fourth quarter tackle of Travis Kelce He seldom felt at his best last season and appeared to bond better with Steve Wilks at defensive coordinator in than Nick Sorensen in Steve Wilks was one of my guys Brown noted Different styles different messages Camp without Papa Sparse people watch practice more intently than radio-play-by-play man and KNBR host Greg Papa a Bay Area announcing institution who reported he will take time off while receiving healing for an undisclosed form of cancer Papa is a year sideline fixture with the ers as he was with the Raiders free to roam areas off limits to local media but inevitably taking time to talk with reporters about what they re seeing and what he s seeing He won t be around for training camp this year and will be missed but here s hoping he can get back in the booth at selected point this season Related Articles ers Brock Purdy adores his baby daughter and Nick Bosa s pass rush NFL expected to sell media assets to ESPN for an equity stake Bay Area radio legend Greg Papa announces cancer finding Will Steph Curry be the Bay Area s last first-ballot Hall of Famer ers Ricky Pearsall enters camp in positive light despite shooting flashbacks Derek Papa Greg s son and a KNBR co-host of Dirty Work with Adam Copeland revealed this on the air Friday I know all of you want my father to get back soon to be on the air and I want that too But first and foremost as his son I want him to be alive And he s fighting right now and it will be a battle but I have a lot of faith that he will get through this