49ers camp: Taylor and McKinnon look strong in returns, Hurd injured and other takeaways
Jerick McKinnon and Trent Taylor had to watch their team go through an inspiring campaign without them. They were both injured and had a feeling of helplessness as the 49ers rose from 4-12 to Super Bowl contender.
“It’s been a tough road,” Taylor said Sunday. “Just going through last season with my infection. Not even being able to go to most of the games, just sitting in my 800-square-foot apartment all season long. It wasn’t fun.”
But now both McKinnon, the shifty running back, and Taylor, a wide receiver, are healthy and the early returns have shown up on the practice field during the first pad-less training camp sessions over the weekend.
Both flashed during practice in their own ways, offering encouraging signs for an offense that could use new weapons to step up while Deebo Samuel works back from a broken foot and Emmanuel Sanders, last year’s top wideout, left to join the New Orleans Saints.
Taylor on Saturday made a diving, one-handed catch along the right sideline in team drills and has been a regular with the first-team offense, working in the slot with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, like he did late in 2017.
McKinnon has been a noticeable member of the 49ers’ talented running back group, and has been a tough cover in one-on-one passing drills, as he was before he suffered his knee injury in 2018. He’s shown sign of explosiveness that were a staple of his game during his first training camp with the team two years ago.
McKinnon’s next snap with San Francisco will be his first despite signing in 2018. He tore his ACL a week before he was slated to make his debut, against his former team, the Minnesota Vikings. Taylor missed all of last season because of a botched procedure to fix a Jones fracture in his foot that led to an infection causing him to miss the entire season and have five total surgeries.
That came after head coach Kyle Shanahan labeled Taylor the team’s best player on offense during last summer’s training camp.
McKinnon had a chance to leave San Francisco in the offseason. The team decided it wouldn’t be able to bring him back unless he reworked his contract after signing a lucrative four-year, $30 million deal he signed in 2018. Missing two consecutive seasons led to McKinnon becoming a question mark the team wasn’t willing to invest in beyond a minimal, one-year pact to prove himself.
“Before I signed, when I first came here, there was something special about this organization and what they had going on and the momentum they had coming off that last season,” McKinnon said Sunday.
“That’s why I came here. There was a lot of young guys – hungry guys, guys that work hard – playing for Coach Shanahan. The reasons that I came here, it wasn’t really about the money. So when things came up about restructuring the contract, it wasn’t really a big deal for me. It was just about proving why I came here and trying to get back on the field and showcasing my talents.”
Both players talked about the mental challenges of having to overcome injuries while watching their team succeed. Taylor said he was forced to get over blaming the doctor for botching the treatment of his foot. McKinnon said he went through a “dark time” and found himself in a “dark place” because he was unable to contribute.
“I could sit up here and say a thousand things but the harsh reality of it is when something like that happens, you do have to go through those mental challenges and emotional challenges and things of that nature,” McKinnon said. “So for me it was about leaning on my faith, my loved ones, my teammates were always reaching out to me to make sure I was always in a good head space, coaches reaching out to me, and to me, that was probably the thing that kept me going the most.”
Aiyuk puts another strong day together
One of the most encouraging signs for San Francisco during the first two days of practice has been the play of rookie receiver Brandon Aiyuk, the 25th pick in this year’s draft, who was brought in to become a fixture alongside Samuel.
The thinking surrounding rookies in Shanahan’s offense is they face a steep learning curve. This offseason especially with practice time being so scarce because of the pandemic. But Aiyuk had two strong days of practice making multiple catches on throws from Garoppolo in team drills.
He caught a long pass during 7-on-7s and a handful of others during full-team drills with the first team.
“I think he’s a real, real intelligent guy, got his head on straight,” Taylor said of the rookie. “The type of guy that’s never too high on the highs or too low on the lows. So I think, from what we’ve seen so far, he’s been picking everything up pretty well and he could end up being a great piece for us.”
Aiyuk’s practice on Monday, when pads come on for the first time, will be more revealing than the weekend’s practices without pads. But so far, so good for the rookie.
Hurd injured, other camp notes
Jalen Hurd, a receiver the 49ers could be counting on for a big role after missing all of last year with a back injury, went down in a heap while running a route on the side field Sunday while the rest of the team was doing team drills.
Hurd stayed on the ground for a few minutes and was attended to by the training staff. He was helped up and walked toward the weight room under his own power. He walked back to the locker room a few minutes later, ending his day roughly halfway through practice. The team did not provide an update on Hurd’s condition afterward.
▪ The most intriguing battle all training camp will be between NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Nick Bosa against seven-time Pro Bowl tackle Trent Williams.
The 49ers held individual pass rushing drills Sunday. In the first rep between the two, Bosa beat Williams to the quarterback with a nifty inside move. The next rep, Williams got his hand on Bosa and put him on the ground before Bosa could get traction and execute the second part of his move.
In team drills, Bosa had a would-be sack of Garoppolo and blew up a sweep run from Raheem Mostert on the next snap. Dee Ford was also disruptive during the same drill and had a would-be sack of Garoppolo.
▪ Another first-round pick, Javon Kinlaw, had a tough go of things in his first pass rushing drills against Laken Tomlinson. The left guard stoned Kinlaw on four consecutive reps. So while Kinlaw clearly has all the physical tools needed to become a good player, he remains early in his development.
Tomlinson, meanwhile, appears to be in good form following up his strong season in 2019.
▪ The 49ers threw an interesting wrinkle into their starting secondary Sunday. Jason Verrett, the oft-injured veteran who appeared in just one game last year, worked with the first-team extensively opposite Richard Sherman. And he did so in Sherman’s normal spot at left cornerback with Sherman practicing on the right side.
It’s likely the 49ers are experimenting with different alignments. But it’s notable that Verrett, a former first-round pick and Pro Bowler, would be getting practice reps with the starters given Emmanuel Moseley and Ahkello Witherspoon shuffled in and out of that spot last season.
▪ Nickel cornerback K’Waun Williams missed Sunday’s practice for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Jamar Taylor.
▪ Offensive lineman Spencer Long, who was signed by San Francisco on Aug. 13 needing depth after two members of the group opted out for the season, retired Sunday. Ben Garland has been the first-team center with Weston Richburg on the active physically unable to perform list. Kofi Amichia and Daniel Brunskill are presumably other options at center.
