Training camp is about to get rolling for the 49ers, with veterans due in Saturday and practice set to begin Sunday. Along with the draft class, San Francisco has already brought in its undrafted free agents, and there’s a familiar theme in the group: the 49ers have a real track record of finding useful players who never heard their names called.
This year’s undrafted class includes seven players under contract: tight end Khalil Dinkins of Penn State, defensive lineman Bryson Eason of Tennessee, wide receiver Wesley Grimes of NC State, defensive lineman Mikail Kamara of Indiana, wide receiver Will Pauling of Notre Dame, safety Jalen Stroman of Notre Dame, and defensive lineman James Thompson Jr. of Illinois.
If you’re trying to identify the UDFA with the clearest path to the 53-man roster, the answer starts up front. The defensive line is the most obvious place for one of these players to break through, which puts Eason, Kamara, and Thompson Jr. in the mix.
Dinkins has a shot too, but it would require George Kittle not being ready for Week 1 and the team moving on from Brayden Willis. At this point, a practice squad role looks more realistic for him.
The name to circle is Kamara.
The 24-year-old was a disruptive presence for national champion Indiana after spending three seasons at James Madison. Once he arrived with the Hoosiers, he put together two strong years, and 2024 was the peak: ten sacks, a career-high 86.4 defensive grade, and an 88.5 pass-rushing grade.
His sack total dipped to two in 2025, but he still generated nine more hurries than he did the year before. That matters, especially when you look at the depth chart he’s trying to crack.
The 49ers’ defensive line locks include C.J. West, Alfred Collins, Nick Bosa, Mykel Williams, Osa Odighizuwa, Sam Okuayinonu, Keion White, plus rookies Gracen Halton and Romello Height.
Kamara still has work to do just to get past Evan Anderson and the other undrafted competition, but he’s the one who feels most capable of forcing the issue. He should have been drafted, and he has the kind of profile that can turn heads in camp. San Francisco is going to need every bit of help it can get on the defensive line, and Kamara offers the kind of dependable depth that can matter when the pass-rush waves start rolling.
In Other News...
George Kittle Just Shared A Wild Kyle Shanahan Fight Story
George Kittle has a way of turning even a casual offseason memory into a full-on locker room story, and his latest one goes back to a 49ers trip to Cabo years ago. The tight end was talking about a golf outing that included both families and a few drinks, when a playful exchange with Kyle Shanahan escalated into a moment that sounded more like a backyard dare than a coach-player relationship.
For San Francisco, stories like that are part of the backdrop to a season that always seems to carry a little extra personality under Shanahan and Kittle. The same article also circles back to the roster picture, including Dre Greenlaws emotional return to the facility and the buzz around Jacob Cowing as a potential camp standout, but the Kittle anecdote is the kind of thing that reminds you how loose and human this group can be before the real football starts. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Camp Absences Suddenly Put Early Week 1 Focus On Four Names
The 49ers first week of training camp already has a different feel because of the names sitting out and the roster shuffling around them. General manager John Lynch said the team waived undrafted rookie tight end Khalil Dinkins with a non-football injury designation and brought in Tanner McLachlan, a 2024 sixth-round pick most recently with the Bengals, while defensive tackle Evan Anderson is expected to be released once a corresponding move is made.
More pressing for San Francisco is the group starting camp on the active/PUP list, with George Kittle, Isaac Guerendo, Mykel Williams and Alfred Collins all set to begin on the sideline. Lynch said Kittles rehab is coming along tremendously and that he is doing everything possible to be ready for Week 1, while Williams is also making every effort to be available for the opener even if that remains uncertain. [Read more 🡒]
5 Young 49ers Could Force Their Way Into Camp Battles
Training camp has a way of turning depth-chart guesses into real competition, and the 49ers have a handful of young players who could make that happen before the pads even come on. Jordan James, Jacob Cowing, Romello Height, Kurtis Rourke and Ephesians Prysock all arrive with different paths, but the same basic challenge: show enough early to make the staff keep them in the conversation for roles that are still very much up for grabs.
For some, the opening is obvious. Cowing can help himself on special teams even before he proves more as a receiver, while Height is the kind of edge presence the 49ers have been searching for in the right situation. Rourke is trying to stand out in a quarterback room that already has established names, and Prysock has a chance to make life interesting in the secondary. James, meanwhile, is in the middle of a backfield race that could be decided by who looks most ready when camp starts sorting out the pecking order. [Read more 🡒]