Four under-the-radar players, one position to watch for 49ers “The team has played it safe with [CJ] West this preseason (he sat out of the first exhibition game), but he suffered a concussion in a practice last week before returning Sunday. The injury opened the door for an undrafted rookie such as James Thompson Jr. or Bryson Eason to make the roster. Now that West is back in the mix, don’t be surprised if he has a big role in this defense, particularly on early downs.….The 49ers will be in nickel
defense plenty, but Dugger’s combination of length (6-foot-5 with a 7-foot wingspan) and speed (4.6-second 40-yard dash) should get him on the field early and often. How he develops will go a long way in determining whether San Francisco’s young defense takes a step forward in 2026.”
49ers hosted former UFL pass rusher Jah Joyner ahead of their preseason finale
“Joyner previously played for the Las Vegas Raiders after going undrafted in 2025. He never stepped onto the field during the 2025 regular season, but played 52 snaps during the preseason. Listed at 6’5”, 265 pounds, Joyner lined up exclusively on the edge.
Joyner played 10 games in the UFL last season. He had a tryout with the Steelers in June 2026, but never signed a deal.
The 49ers working out a pass rusher the day before their preseason finale makes sense. They’ll need the bodies. The players in the 2-deep roster have bigger fish to fry, as their regular season gets underway by the weekend. Because of that, you don’t run the risk of the players you believe will play in Week 1 playing in a meaningless game for them two weeks before the season kicks off.”
49ers head to Las Vegas hoping to get preseason finale vs. Raiders out of the way (paywall)
“I don’t think you’ll see many starters,” Shanahan said. “We just don’t have enough time as we usually do, so I’ll be surprised if any of them are out there. There might be a couple, but it will be closer to how Week 1 (of the preseason) was.”
49ers land Trent Williams successor in 2027 NFL mock draft
“Stanford offensive tackle Niki Prongos has been one of the more pleasant surprises in my summer film study, and I wanted to make sure he was in this mock,” Reid wrote. “There’s a bit of projection with this pick, as Prongos is still a work in progress. But the 6-foot-7, 315-pound former walk-on has good foundational tools, and I really like his upward trajectory.”
