2013 Pre-OTA Roster

With the NFL free agency period winding down and the draft having come and gone, the attention of fans across the country has begun to turn to how their favorite team will come together once September rolls around.  With the 49ers set to open their 2013 OTA's I thought it would be a good time to take an initial look at how their 53 man roster may shake out. (* denotes rookie)

Quarterback (3)

Colin Kaepernick
Colt McCoy
BJ Daniels *

I am going with Daniels over Tolzien because the future of the 49ers offense with Kaepernick now at the helm is the spread, Read/Option offense that we saw at the end of last year and Daniels is much more suited for that style of play.  Also, McCoy is in the final year of his contract and the 49ers may be looking to groom Daniels to eventually take over the backup role.

Running Back (4)

Frank Gore
Kendall Hunter
LaMichael James
Anthony Dixon

This group remains intact from last season.  Fourth round draft pick Marcus Lattimore will most likely spend all of 2013 on the PUP list as he continues to rehab his knee.

Fullback (1)

Bruce Miller

Miller will continue to be the primary fullback, but look for Alex Debniak or Jason Schepler to land on the practice squad.

Wide Receiver (6)

Michael Crabtree
Anquan Boldin
Kyle Williams
Quinton Patton *
AJ Jenkins
Mario Manningham

The battle amongst this group to watch as the preseason unfolds will be for the third receiver spot.  If Manningham is unable to go at the beginning of the year the 49ers may choose to put him on the PUP list, in which case they may bring up Ricardo Lockette or choose to go with 5 early on and add a player at another position group.

TE (3)

Vernon Davis
Vance McDonald *
Cameron Morrah

The choice to go with Morrah over Garrett Celek is completely based on the 49ers use of 2 TE sets.  If McDonald takes a bit to develop I see them making this move to utilize Morrah in the move TE role that Delanie Walker has manned the last 2 years.

This is the group that I think could be most effected by the progress of Manningham.  If he is not ready early I could see them placing him on the PUP list, and carrying 4 TE's through the first half of the year while McDonald develops.

Offensive Line (7)

Joe Staley
Mike Iupati
Daniel Kilgore
Alex Boone
Anthony Davis
Joe Looney
Adam Snyder

With Goodwin in the final year of his contract,  the move to Kilgore in 2013 allows the 49ers to build continuity in their offensive line for years to come and save $3.7 million against the cap.  Looney and Snyder give them backups across every position on the line.

Look for them to have 2, possibly 3 offensive linemen on the practice squad this year as well.

Defensive Line (7)

Justin Smith
Glenn Dorsey
Ray McDonald
Cornelieus (Tank) Carradine *
Ian Williams
Quinton Dial *
Lawrence Okoye

The 49ers upgraded the back up roles along their defensive line in the draft with the selections of Carradine and Dial.  I have included Okeoye in this group due to the fact that if he continues to impress there is a very good chance they could not stash him on the Practice Squad without first losing him to another team.  Only 46 players can dress on game day, so he will replace Ian Williams as the inactive DL on game day.

Outside Linebacker (4)

Aldon Smith
Ahmad Brooks
Parys Haralson
Corey Lemonier *

The return of Haralson will allow Smith to get a breather in the base defense.  Lemonier will transition to standing up, and likely be groomed to replace Haralson in 2014 and play primarily in pass rush situations this season.

Inside Linebacker (5)

Patrick Willis
NaVorro Bowman
Dan Skuta
Michael Wilhoite
Nick Moody *

Skuta, Wilhoite and Moody all make the team for their prowess on special teams.

Cornerback (5)

Carlos Rogers
Tarell Brown
Chris Culliver
Nnamdi Asomugha
Tramaine Brock

It will be interesting to see how the addition of Asomugha effects the structure of this group.  Brock makes the team over Cox due to his special teams play.

Safety (5)

Donte Whitner
Eric Reid *
Craig Dahl
CJ Spillman
Darcel McBath

The only question in this group is how long it takes for Reid to become a starter.  McBath makes the team for his special teams play, as does Spillman and Dahl

Specialists (3)

Phil Dawson (K)
Andy Lee (P)
Brian Jennings (LS)

Good ahead, rip it to pieces.  I will update this periodically as the season draws closer.