49ers mailbag: Offseason oozes cautious optimism with new faces across depth chart

SANTA CLARA Like students signing yearbooks before summer break ers fans typed a limited questions for our first mailbag now that the offseason plan is complete Did the mainstream media go off too early on the ers A lot of people mentioned they are cheap santanspf In March the ers got ripped as free agents detected jobs elsewhere That was the Niners plan to get younger and invest this year s big bucks in extensions for Brock Purdy George Kittle and Fred Warner As Trent Williams commented When you ve got to pay several guys a fortune specific guys have to go It s just unfortunate And new guys have to replace them The roster is never a finished product Trading for pass rusher Bryce Huff evidenced the ers still see themselves as contenders Heck it s already shaping up as the Let s Make A Deal Year for the Bay Area see the Warriors bargain for Jimmy Butler in February and the Giants for Rafael Devers on Sunday What s the overall mood How does it compare to other years when they were favorites for the Super Bowl things and stuff and junk These ers emote more cautious optimism and realism Still a few swagger Less entitlement less revenge-seeking boasts Confidence It s definitely there among the veterans who know they must hastily bond and help groom the tidal wave of newcomers There isn t a feeling that a Super Bowl window just closed They re just entering a new room with new double-pane windows Besides the kickers do you see a difference in special teams tjones New punter new long snapper new core veterans and potentially new young gunners Will there be a new kicker A few may say it s Jake Moody s job to lose and this may be too into semantics but I think he must win it over Greg Joseph Moody has a new two-step approach and all eyes were on him Tuesday as he made -of- field-goal attempts It s not a stress-free aura and I m not sure Kyle Shanahan wants to endure another season of that when he can instead defer to a journeyman veteran or veterans Who is in line to start at safety since Brown and Mustapha who I thought would be starting are both coming off surgeries BigBlockSports I anticipate Ji Ayir Brown returning from ankle surgery in time to start the season Mustaspha s second ACL repair in as a large number of years could keep up on the physically-unable-to-perform list at least the first month or two of the season Look for the other opening-week starter to be Jason Pinnock a former New York Giants starter who exhibited great range intercepting a Purdy long ball Tuesday However don t rule out the ers from plugging in a veteran free agent at the last minute see Tashaun Gipson Is Jauan Jennings going to be appealed to do different things in or are they just going to look his way more often If he were WR is it a position change or more of a target increase goodbyeLMJ Jennings proved last season he s capable of being a top-target wide receiver falling yards shy of the -yard mark once the Arizona Cardinals got him unfairly ejected in the season finale He s had certain monster outputs in latest seasons and the ers could rely on more while Brandon Aiyuk knee gets up to full speed Healthy versions of Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle will diminish the need for Jennings and any other wide receiver however Who do you think will be left in the WR room once the season begins michael budd The ers could start the season with Aiyuk on the PUP list and Demarcus Robinson suspended for last season s arrest for an alleged DUI leaving the receiving corps relatively thin Jennings Ricky Pearsall Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins should be locks barring one of them gets hurt or traded The next-best option He might not be on the squad yet Otherwise choose from in my order Isaiah Hodgin Isaiah Neyor Terique Owens Malik Knowles Russell Gage or Junior Bergen How did Mykel Williams look knicks Does Williams look ready or is he going to need coaching matty maff He worked on the side the past two weeks because of a minor hamstring issue His true test comes once pads go on and he is toe-to-toe with Trent Williams in training camp What struck me the majority beyond his NFL-prototype physique He seems more receptive to advice than any rookie I can remember at practice whether it came from his position coach Kris Kocurek his new mentor Nick Bosa or his new head trainer Dustin Perry Does he have a lot to learn All rookies do How is the offensive line looking robertdomenichini I m a big believer in continuity so the fact that Trent Williams returns is huge and the ers have a workmanlike unit to his right with Ben Bartch the only expected new starter at left guard Every fan acts as if the ers should have five first-round draft picks protecting Purdy when that is not feasible College football isn t pumping out a swarm of NFL-ready linemen Is Alfred Collins even signed yet ers faithful No but majority of second-rounders are not He missed the offseason practices because of a calf issue Meanwhile fellow defensive tackle C J West signed his four-year deal Friday Related Articles Like father like son ers coaches Shanahan Lombardi Kubiak got started at an early age Inman ers -man roster projection entering training camp Robert Saleh starts ers sequel with a good first couple of months Brandon Aiyuk is healing incredibly well from knee injury ers GM says Is Christian McCaffrey back to his old self We ll find out at ers training camp Do you think the Niners should make an effort to go get Jaire Alexander jackjones Not unless Deommodore Lenoir or Renardo Green get hurt Signing Alexander would run contrary to this offseason s mission invest in youth and avoid injury-prone veterans How did every contestant decide on their jersey number Is there a story behind it annakendick It s almost by default for newcomers as in they get what is available But then guys may change digits before the season or later in their tenure Purdy went from No in rookie camp to No because the latter was worn by Dan Marino whom Purdy and his dad idolized Honestly I don t see any big problems like the rest of you all do I see all over again This time we have Mykel Williams instead of Nick Bosa being a rookie Dee Winters is going to be Dre Greenlaw Our secondary is back to being Niners will again win - games this year loco We ll keep this receipt The ers will win Super Bowl kylelopez Thanks Joe Namath We ll be sure to tell our bookie