Though there's always the possibility of trades and further free agent signings, the San Francisco 49ers have now done the bulk of their work in terms of adding to a roster widely considered the best in football.
Eight draftees and eight undrafted free agents have joined the mix, putting some more experienced players in jeopardy of losing their place on the 53-man roster.
With rookie minicamp around the corner, I look at nine players on the 49ers' roster on the hotseat following the 2024 NFL Draft.
RBs Elijah Mitchell and Jordan Mason
Last week was a bad one to be a 49ers running back not named Christian McCaffrey, as the 49ers traded up for Louisville's Isaac Guerendo and then signed Cody Schrader, the leading rusher in the SEC for Missouri last season, as an undrafted free agent.
Guerendo will almost certainly make the team and Schrader, as a tough runner who excels picking up yards after contact and has significant experience in a zone scheme, at least has a shot if he impresses in camp.
Neither Mitchell nor Mason has any guaranteed money on their deals and both are free agents next offseason. Mitchell was the 49ers' leading rusher in 2021 but has continually struggled with injuries, while Mason saw very limited action in his second season and does not bring much passing game upside. As such, it's easy to see a world in which the 49ers, who added a pass protecting back in Patrick Taylor Jr. in free agency, parting with at least one of this duo.
WRs Ronnie Bell and Danny Gray
A useful depth piece at receiver as a rookie, Bell had three touchdowns after being drafted in the seventh round last year.
But he did not feature in any of the 49ers' playoff games and cannot afford to feel safe on the roster after San Francisco drafted Ricky Pearsall in the first round and doubled up at wideout with the fourth-round pick of Jacob Cowing.
If Bell's seat is warm, 2022 third-rounder Danny Gray's is on fire. Gray has one catch in two seasons having missed all of last year through injury. If, and it's no guarantee, the 49ers carry six receivers, it may come down to Bell vs. Gray for the final spot on the depth chart. Given his recent history of delivering actual production, Bell would probably have the edge.
Yet there's also a chance both miss out. Neither has any guaranteed money in their contracts, whereas veteran Chris Conley has $210,000 on his. Conley was key on special teams last season and made some huge plays in the postseason on offense.
OG Spencer Burford
Another pick from the 2022 draft in jeopardy, Burford at least has a decent amount of good tape from his two years sharing the right guard role with Daniel Brunskill in 2022 and Jon Feliciano in 2023.
But his stock is low after his critical protection error in the Super Bowl and a lack of versatility also dents his hopes. Burford played tackle in college, but he is very much only an emergency option at that position.
With the 49ers drafting a guard who they believe has five-position upside in Dominick Puni and another who has played guard and tackle in Jarrett Kingston, Burford suddenly finds himself in a spot where his services could soon be considered surplus to requirements. The fact he too has no guaranteed money on his deal increases the chances of the 49ers coming to that conclusion.
DT Kalia Davis
Davis is the most unlikely of any player on this list to be cut.
The 2022 sixth-round pick produced some promising flashes when he finally got on the field last year before injury ended his season. However, a resume with only three appearances in two seasons is hardly one that is going to guarantee him a spot on the 49ers' defensive line rotation.
While Davis has no guaranteed money on his deal, the 49ers gave $280,000 guaranteed to undrafted free agent Evan Anderson, who as a nose tackle would fill a role the Niners have not had occupied since D.J. Jones left after the 2021 season.
LB Jalen Graham
Graham was one of the stars of the 49ers' preseason last year, emerging as a promising talent at linebacker as a seventh-round pick.
But it did not translate to any kind of significant game action in the regular season, with Graham inactive for most of the campaign.
Indeed, of the two linebackers drafted by San Francisco in the final two rounds of the 2023 draft, it was sixth-rounder Dee Winters who saw substantially more snaps. Winters played 60 defensive snaps and 226 special teams snaps. Graham did not play a single defensive snap and featured on only 58 special teams snaps.
Though Dre Greenlaw is a candidate to start the season on the PUP list following his Achilles tear in the Super Bowl, the addition of De'Vondre Campbell and key special teamer Ezekiel Turner in free agency and the selection of Tatum Bethune with the 49ers' final pick in this year's draft leaves Graham's place on the 2024 roster in significant doubt.
CBs Ambry Thomas and Samuel Womack
Thomas and Womack have each looked primed for prominent roles during their careers with the 49ers.
Now it seems likely that both will be off the roster come the start of the 2024 season.
Thomas, after an up-and-down first two seasons with the Niners, looked to have nailed down a role as a starter at outside corner on nickel downs, but a rough postseason saw him benched for the Super Bowl. Womack was originally tabbed as the starter at nickel in his rookie year in 2022 but lost the job to Deommodore Lenoir after one game.
Neither is owed any guaranteed money and the 49ers added to the cornerback position substantially this offseason, signing Isaac Yiadom, Rock Ya-Sin and Chase Lucas while drafting Renardo Green in the second round.
Yiadom excelled as a starter for the New Orleans Saints last season and Ya-Sin's deal carries $985,000 in guaranteed money. Both will likely be on the roster.
Lucas has value as a special teamer and can play the nickel role, and the 49ers have another player they think highly of on the depth chart in 2023 fifth-rounder Darrell Luter Jr.
Womack at least offers inside-out versatility, but it's dubious whether that will be enough to keep him around. As for Thomas, the 49ers' activity at corner this offseason was a clear signal they are done being in a position where they need to rely on him.
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