Golden Nuggets: Last practice til camp

Kyle Shanahan speaks at 49ers mandatory minicamp

“San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan addressed reporters following the team’s first practice of mandatory minicamp. Here’s everything he had to say.”

49ers’ Trent Williams on his future: ‘Not going to retire with something left in the tank’ (paywall)

“You wouldn’t think that this is a team that went 6-11 last year,” Williams said Tuesday. “The confidence, the way the kids are flying around. … The new draft class to me looks like it has several steals, several great picks that are going to contribute.

“I was really pleased to see how the confidence and how the atmosphere is coming back and kind of being around the guys for the first time.”

Wednesday’s session is the last practice before the team parts ways until training camp in six weeks. Williams, who turns 37 next month, had mentioned last year that he would like to play until he is 40 years old, and pooh-poohed any talk of retirement.”

49ers rookie returner Junior Bergen has big goals, out to prove he has the ‘it’ factor (paywall)

“Besides Boyer, Bergen had another big fan on the 49ers staff. New assistant special teams coach Colt Anderson once played safety at Montana and also watched Bergen from the stands.

While there were a lot of teams making Bergen free-agent offers late in the draft, general manager John Lynch said both Boyer and Anderson were campaigning hard for the 49ers to go ahead and take him in the seventh round.

“He just has great awareness,” Hauck said. “He catches the ball clean — in any kind of weather — and secures it, which is very important, but it’s his point-guard awareness that makes him special. He knows where everybody is, and he has great feel and acceleration.”

Bergen did play point guard for the basketball team at Billings (Mont.) High, along with football, baseball and wrestling. He was the sixth of nine kids growing up and wore oversized football cleats around the house as a toddler, earning him the nickname “Cleatus” from his grandfather.”

What the 49ers see in Mykel Williams gets into who he is, not just what he can do (paywall)

“Wherever the event was — for the elderly, kids, children with cancer, people with disabilities — Mykel pops up all over the video,” Schumann said. “When there were opportunities to give back, he always did. And he genuinely enjoyed it.”

Asked about his philanthropy, Williams, the oldest of five siblings, points to his background. He has four sisters, ages 17, 16, 12 and 5, and his protective older-brother role is part of what’s made looking out for others reflexive.

Williams has a close relationship with his mother, Shemekia, a three-sport college athlete who is in the Fort Valley State University Hall of Fame. But he was primarily raised by his father, John, who declined to take much credit for his son’s generosity.

“A lot of that is just him,” John Williams said. “I tell him all the time, ‘You’ve got a bigger heart than I did.’ He’s a good-spirited kid who has no ill will for anyone. It’s just a blessing to be part of his life. I’ve learned from him as much as he’s learned from me.”

49ers minicamp report: Brock Purdy throws picks, Jacob Cowing garners praise (paywall)

“While a smattering of established veterans like Christian McCaffrey and Brock Purdy have taken part in all of the spring practices so far, the bulk of the work has gone to newcomers. Shanahan said he wants that group to learn the system, take advantage of the 40-day break, then hit the ground running — and competing — when training camp opens late next month.

Shanahan said he’s been pleased with the spring period. Unlike the 2024 offseason that was marked by a Super Bowl hangover — “One of the most traumatic events you can experience in sports is losing the Super Bowl,” tackle Trent Williams said — and contract disputes, this one has been lively and drama-free. Shanahan had strong attendance when the offseason program opened April 22 and perfect attendance Tuesday.”

Brock Purdy Throws Three Interceptions on Day 1 of 49ers Minicamp

“Winters was playing zone coverage over the middle and Purdy threw the ball right to him. Winters is playing too well to lose his starting spot to rookie Nick Martin. I predict Winters will start next to Fred Warner in the season opener.”