Shanahan highlights some of the competition we will see during training camp and OTA’s

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke at the owners meetings for breakfast on Tuesday morning. As you can imagine, he had quite a bit to say. We’ll hit on the topics that stood out.

Corners

That’s what most of us anticipated, but this seems to hint at the fact that the 49ers are content with what they have at the corner position. Some thought that Verrett would just play in the slot. This lets us know that he will indeed compete on the outside to start. This should be one of the more fun camp battles.

Shanahan on the draft

“We’re going to get a really good player at No. 2. If not, that’s because we got a really good trade at No. 2.”

No beating around the bush here. Shanahan knows that they will get a valuable player at the number two overall pick. He is also well aware that the potential of a team falling in love with a quarterback, and being able to hold said team ransom. Shanahan said his read on this draft is that it is stronger than two years ago when the team picked No. 2. That’s a good sign. Sounds like a man that is comfortable with trading down.

On the receiver position

Shanahan said when he watched tape of Jordan Matthews, he saw an improved player toward the end of last season. Matthews also got good reviews from new QC coach Miles Austin. Shanahan also said he “definitely” thinks team still needs to add more at receiver. He also mentioned that he is extremely hopeful for Trent Taylor, who has been working hard at the team facilities.

This next quote was telling:

The last sentence says a lot. The question now becomes how early does the team invest at the wide receiver position?

On Jimmy G

“We can talk, but we can’t talk about football. We don’t have much else to talk about, though, so it’s pretty awkward.”

That’s hilarious. Obviously, you want to have a relationship with your quarterback. Especially with the amount of time these two spend together. Speaking of, Garoppolo spent some time in December watching film with a familiar name:

The amount of preparation that goes in to playing the quarterback position in the NFL, if you truly want to be great, is unheard of. It’ll be interesting to see how Garoppolo is coming off of injury. Not just from a physical point of view, but a the mental side of the game.

Shanahan also joked that he will flip a coin to see who gets the starter reps while Garoppolo recovers.