The 49ers’ rookie bubble has already started to wobble for Enrique Cruz Jr.
San Francisco spent a fifth-round pick on him, but the early camp reports haven’t matched that investment. The chatter coming out of practice has been rough from the start, and it points to a player who has yet to make much of a case for himself. In 1-on-1 work and in team periods, Cruz Jr. has reportedly struggled with hand placement and has had trouble staying in front of defenders.
That’s one thing when the matchup is Romello Height, a speed player built for those drills. It’s another when Cruz Jr. is also getting beat by players the 49ers recently picked up off the street, including Titus Leo, Ogbo Okoronwko, and Quinton Bell. That’s the kind of detail that turns a shaky camp into a real roster concern.
San Francisco’s offensive line as a whole has been described as underwhelming in camp, so Cruz Jr. is hardly the only one drawing scrutiny. Even so, the rookie’s name keeps surfacing for the wrong reasons, and that matters.
The 49ers have shown they won’t hesitate to move on from draft picks they believe don’t fit. If Cruz Jr. is going to stick, it will have to come from more than pedigree.
It will come down to his work ethic, his development, and whether he can show enough between now and the end of preseason.
If the 49ers are looking for outside help, there may be options worth watching. On Monday morning, the Patriots cut offensive tackle Caedan Wallace, a third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. His rookie season was knocked off course by an ankle injury that sent him to Injured Reserve, and he has only seen limited action through two seasons.
From San Francisco’s perspective, Wallace checks a lot of boxes on paper. He is 6’5”, 314 pounds, and brings hand size in the 90th percentile and a broad jump in the 96th percentile. With the 49ers’ depth already stretched thin, to the point that Austen Pleasants is being used at guard and Brandon Parker is serving as a steady camp presence at tackle, a player like Wallace could become appealing quickly.
And that’s the larger pressure point for Cruz Jr. August will likely bring more names like Wallace onto the market, players who may not be perfect but could still push for a roster spot or at least force the 49ers to take a harder look at one of their current backups. For Cruz Jr., that means every practice rep matters, because the room for error is already shrinking.
In Other News...
49ers Have An Overlooked Camp Battle Fans Should Watch Closely
One of the quieter camp storylines in Santa Clara is taking shape at tight end, where San Francisco is sorting through a pair of depth options with very different rsums. Brayden Willis is entering his fourth season and still trying to carve out a real role after limited regular-season work, while Josiah Deguara arrived in training camp with more career snaps already on his ledger.
The 49ers may not spend much time talking about this spot publicly, but it could matter once the games count. George Kittle remains the clear centerpiece of the position, yet the team knows how quickly that picture can change over a season, which is why the next layer behind him is worth watching closely during camp. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Still Need One Thing From Mike Evans To Unlock This Offense
Mike Evans has been watching from the sideline for now, his camp work interrupted by a minor quad injury that cropped up during training camp. For a 49ers offense still sorting out its best version, the delay matters because Evans was brought in to bring size and steadiness on the outside, the kind of presence that can change how defenses line up and how Kyle Shanahan can build the passing game.
Shanahan has made it clear the team is being careful with the injury, which is sensible this time of year but still leaves one important question hanging over the offense. If Evans gets back to full speed and stays there, he is expected to hold a major role as an outside receiver, and that kind of availability could determine how quickly San Francisco unlocks what it wants to do on the perimeter. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Receiver Injuries Are Putting DeZhaun Stribling In The Spotlight
The 49ers wide receiver depth has thinned enough in camp that DeZhaun Stribling has started drawing a closer look. With Mike Evans, Christian Kirk and Jacob Cowing among the players dealing with injuries and Ricky Pearsall already out for the season, the rookie has had a chance to put his name into the conversation while San Francisco sorts through its options.
Stribling has helped himself by doing the little things that tend to matter most this time of year, showing strong blocking and reliable hands while earning praise for his tenacity and physicality. Coaches still have not made any public decision on how quickly he might factor into the regular-season rotation, but his camp work has at least made him harder to ignore as the 49ers search for answers at receiver. [Read more 🡒]