49ers’ Trent Williams may have only two more seasons left. He has one goal (paywall)
“I would hope that we don’t have to show how resilient we are,” Williams said. “I hope that we can show how dominant we are. And how dominant we can be. And how dominant we should be. And with the offseason we’ve had, the players we’ve added, I think we got a good chance to go out there and show that.”
The go-getter everyone’s talking about at 49ers OTA practices: Mike Evans (paywall)
“It’s hard for young guys not to fan-girl over a guy like that,” said tackle Trent Williams, who at 37 is one of the few 49ers older than Evans, 32. “Even myself, I’ll watch him from afar. Coach (Kyle Shanahan) put him up on the big board today. For OTAs in what, Year 13, taking it as serious as he did? That to me is an example of why he is who he is.”
49ers practice notes: The speed at receiver is night and day from 2025
“I saw a player who decidedly won in isolated situations. The way Kyle Shanahan can empty a side of the field, creating an easy pitch and catch for Brock Purdy, almost felt too good to be true. If Brock wanted to, he could throw the ball to Evans every time he dropped back. But that would make practice boring, and nobody else would get anything accomplished.
Evans doesn’t look like he’s running fast. Then you realize he’s 6’5” and how much ground he chews up with his long strides. Just like he did in Tampa Bay, Evans had the cornerbacks terrified he was going to run by him.
Not to give away state secrets, but Evans might have 500 yards on out routes this season because of that. He does this thing where he gives the defensive back a nod like he’s going up the field, only to break outside.
And the second you get aggressive and jump it, you come back and run a double move. That nod with a quick 1-2 steps up the field is nasty and makes Evans running an out route unguardable.
Shanahan can use all the attention Evans will command as a decoy. On one play he was isolated from a condensed split and ran a “glance” route, which is a five-step slant. Purdy looked his way, and that side of the defense collapsed on Evans. But they forgot about Demarcus Robinson, who was streaking down the sideline on a double move.
That kind of gravity from your WR1 will go a long way, especially when he’s surrounded by speed. And let me tell you, Evans is surrounded by speed….So Stribling won as the X receiver in an isolated situation against the 49ers “top” cornerback. Later on in the session, Stribling ran by both the cornerback and safety on a post route. Purdy threw a moon ball, and Stribling was on the receiving end with the defenders in white jerseys trailing in the dust.
After the play, Dre Greenlaw, who was watching off to the side, walked over to his partner in crime and said, “That boy 15 can fly, can’t he?” Greenlaw, Warner, and K.J. Wright spent the next minute or so hyping up the 49ers’ first pick of the 2026 draft.
It’s one practice, but the personnel suggests the 49ers will have a vertical passing game in 2026. That was not the case last year. When you cannot push the ball downfield, everything becomes more difficult. When you can, well, 2022 and 2023 happen. No pressure.”
Kawakami: ‘How dominant we should be’ — Trent Williams and the 49ers’ 2026 mandate (paywall)
“Want some more impact of having Williams around? You should’ve seen the look on Mike Evans’ face on Wednesday when he was told that Williams called him a Hall of Famer.
Or can you imagine rookie Enrique Cruz Jr.’s reaction when Williams gave him a specific pointer during a drill this week?”
Why Mac Jones ‘not mad’ about another season as 49ers backup after trade rumors
“Yeah, there was definitely obviously a lot of speculation,” Jones said on Wednesday. “And, honestly, after a long year, I was just trying to enjoy with (it) my teammates and look back on the season. But there was some stuff out there and it was made very clear to me that I was going to be here from this organization.”
49ers veteran assesses young D-linemen CJ West, Gracen Halton
“Grayson’s quick,” Odighizuwa told reporters. “That boy’s get-off is actually really good. He moves really well for someone his size, so it’s just cool to see……I feel like [CJ West has] improved a lot. Coach was actually showing some tape this morning from last year to this year. So, just seeing the improvement, the way he’s moving, the flexibility, the bend that’s just been added to his game, and the power that he brings, just adding that little piece is going to [help him] take a huge step this year, I feel like.”
49ers’ George Kittle gushes over Mike Evans’ early impact
“He was a big fan of how we travel, with the lay downs and stuff,” Kittle said. “And he was like, ‘Yep, I never had that.’ And I was like, ‘It’s crazy, but welcome to the 49ers.’ And then we talked again a couple of days later and just kind of reiterated some of the same things, and he was just really excited about it.”
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