Getty San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Willie Snead IV prepares before an NFL game.
The San Francisco 49ers have a talented roster, but being a competitive team means making difficult cuts as the season approaches. For former Baltimore Ravens and Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Willie Snead IV, new projections are saying that he will be on the outside looking in.
Snead joined San Francisco and head coach Kyle Shanahan during the 2022 preseason but was a practice squad player for the majority of the year. Heading into 2023 and Snead’s 10th NFL season, Niners Nation’s Kyle Posey believes that it will take a special performance from Snead (or several other training camp WRs) to force a roster spot.
“It’ll take an exceptional preseason from Willie Snead, Ronnie Bell, Isaiah Winstead, or Tay Martin to make the roster,” Posey explains. “The first five are locked in, which means another wideout must go above and beyond to prove their worth over an extra lineman on either side of the ball. That’ll be difficult to do considering there are only so many targets to go around.”
It’s a positive situation when a veteran like Snead has to fight to make the roster, but it will be interesting to see any last-second changes. Posey listed the five receivers he expects to make the final 53-man squad:
- Brandon Aiyuk
- Deebo Samuel
- Jauan Jennings
- Danny Gray
- Ray-Ray McCloud
Willie Snead Facing Training Camp Competition from Danny Gray
Making the roster is difficult enough already, but the quality that the 49ers boast at WR only makes it more challenging. It not only raises the ceiling, but players like Samuel and Aiyuk raise the standard too, as Danny Gray recently explained.
After a bit-part role in 2022 (1 catch for 10 yards,) Gray is looking to elevate his game. The 2022 third-round pick explained in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch that he has had to narrow his focus and improve his approach since joining the 49ers.
“I just stopped all the hanging out and playing the games,” Gray said. “And I replaced it with football… I make sure I take two-and-a-half hours out of my day to just study my plays, study my concepts, study my formations. Study the depths and the landmarks on the routes.”
Gray is attempting to live up to the promise he showed at SMU in 2021, where he totaled 803 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in his final year with the Mustangs according to Sports Reference.
49ers’ Kyle Shanahan Speaks on Brock Purdy
San Francisco has a great array of options for receivers, but they are still in uncertain territory in terms of passers. Trey Lance and Sam Darnold are healthy and practicing fully, but the guy who started the majority of games in 2022, Brock Purdy, is still on his way back from a torn ligament in his elbow.
On July 30, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan provided an update on Purdy’s condition. Shanahan explained that his progress is still ahead of schedule and that San Francisco is excited to have him back.
“I think he’s done great. He has come back. He’s had no arm troubles,” Shanahan said to local media. “He’s been totally healthy. I think he’s getting all his timing back, his rhythm. I was really impressed with him in his two practices.”
Purdy has been on a “pitch count” in order to limit any potential issues with his arm.