Jimmie Ward a CB starter at 49ers’ first OTA practice and other observations

SANTA CLARA -- Chip Kelly held his first 49ers practice that involved his whole team -- or nearly so -- on Tuesday. It was as fast-paced and huddle-less as advertised. And some players obviously were in better shape than others. Some notes and observations:

* It was nearly a full house in Santa Clara. First-round draft pick Joshua Garnett cannot participate per league rules because Stanford classes are still in session. Nose tackle Ian Williams is rehabilitating from an ankle injury in Florida while defensive lineman Glenn Dorsey is rehabbing from his ACL injury at the team facility. Dorsey was doing some light running on Tuesday. Also, Ahmad Brooks was rehabbing from an unknown issue that did not appear serious. Kicker Phil Dawson usually doesn't join the squad until the mandatory minicamp in June. Rookie John Lunsford is handling kicking duties until then.

* Undrafted wide receiver Devon Cajuste seemed to be dealing with a right ankle issue during individual drills. Then during the 11-on-11 session, he went up high to grab a pass from Thaddeus Lewis and landed awkwardly on the ground. He was taken to the training room and did not return.

* There were several players in new positions, perhaps most prominently Jimmie Ward. The former first-round draft pick spent his first two seasons entering the game as a nickel cornerback. On Tuesday, at least, he was a starting, outside cornerback who then moved inside to nickel cornerback on obvious passing downs. Tramaine Brock was the other first-team cornerback. Dontae Johnson played on the outside on nickel downs.

* Tank Carradine looks decidedly lighter, and I'm told he's now in the 260-pound range. Though the 49ers have disputed that he's now an outside linebacker, he's doing everything the other outside linebackers like Aaron Lynch and Eli Harold are doing. That includes trailing tight ends and running backs on pass patterns on certain plays. Carradine, for example, had good coverage on tight ends Blake Bell and Garrett Celek on back to back plays early in practice.

* The composition of the offensive line is bound to change throughout the offseason, especially considering that Garnett is not yet able to participate. The starting unit on Tuesday was LT Joe Staley, LG Zane Beadles, C Daniel Kilgore, RG Brandon Thomas and RT Erik Pears. The second team: LT Colin Kelly, LG Ian Silberman, C Marcus Martin, RG Andrew Tiller and RT Trent Brown. The third team: LT Norman Price, LG Blake Muir, C Alex Balducci, RG Fahn Cooper and RTJohn Theus.

* So why was Erik Pears, not Trent Brown, at right tackle? Again, the composition is likely to change throughout the offseason and training camp. But Brown also looks as if he could improve his conditioning, which was an issue of his in college.

* Balducci played nose tackle at Oregon. Now he's blocking nose tackles in practice, including ex-linemates DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead. All of the defensive lineman are being trained to play the three positions on the line, which means even 6-7 Buckner and Armstead are at nose tackle from time to time.

* The starting defense, on Tuesday at least: Armstead (LDE), Mike Purcell (NT) and Quinton Dial (RDE). NaVorro Bowman and Gerald Hodges were the first-string inside linebackers. Lynch and Harold were the outside linebackers. Eric Reid and Antoine Bethea started at safety with Brock and Ward the cornerbacks.

* Bruce Miller, a fullback the last four seasons, mostly lined up a tight end Tuesday. He had a nice catch down the sideline on a pass from rookie quarterback Jeff Driskel. Blaine Gabbert, Lewis and Driskel threw all the passes. Colin Kaepernick, as he did in an earlier minicamp, shadowed the motion of the quarterbacks but has not yet been cleared to throw passes.

* Bruce Ellington, DeAndrew White, DeAndre Smelter, DuJuan Harris and rookie receiver Bryce Treggs (Cal) are working at punt returner. Ellington, Harris, White, Treggs and Mike Davis are taking repetitions at kick returner.

* Newcomer Eric Rogers, a receiver, had a number of nice catches. At 6-3 and with long arms, Rogers offers quarterbacks a big target.

* Wide receiver Dres Anderson, who wore No. 6 last year, is wearing No. 17 this year. New inside linebacker Wynton McManis is No. 48. He was lining up next to fellow rookie Jason Fanaika, who played defensive line at Utah.

This story was originally published May 17, 2016 at 1:10 PM with the headline "Jimmie Ward a CB starter at 49ers’ first OTA practice and other observations."