Better day for Brock Purdy and Sam Darnold; Observations from day 3 of 49ers training camp

Here is what stood out from the 49ers third day of training camp in Santa Clara.

Brock Purdy

Purdy continued the process of getting back in the groove. His numbers were better than yesterday, 6-12 overall with all throws coming in team drills.

It still looks like there’s a way to go before he gets back to where he was prior to the injury.

Purdy started the day off by hitting the throw he missed to open practice on Thursday. After hitting a checkdown to Christian McCaffrey he threw a short pass behind Brayden Willis and cornerback Isaiah Oliver nearly came away with an interception.

The second-year quarterback finished practice strong, completing three of his final four attempts, with the lone incompletion coming on a drop by George Kittle. Purdy made a pair of strong throws to Christian McCaffrey along with fitting the ball between two defenders for a 25-yard completion to Deebo Samuel.

Trey Lance

For the second practice in a row Lance completed just two of five attempts while splitting reps with Sam Darnold.

It was a rough start for Lance. On his first play he rolled to his right off play action and had Brayden Willis open in the flat, but the short pass came up short. On his next throw, Lance had Jordan Mason open in the right flat but threw well behind the running back.

The next couple of drop backs saw Lance use his legs to pick up positive yardage. Both plays featured good coverage downfield and Lance did a good job of keeping the play alive with his legs.

Those scrambles got Lance into a rhythm as he completed two of his final three attempts. Lance connected with Tay Martin off play action for a nice gain of 25 to the right side. The quarterback went right back to Martin on his next attempt, but the two could not connect on a deep throw down the right sideline. Lance then finished up his day with a short completion in the left flat to Brayden Willis while rolling in that direction after a play fake.

Sam Darnold

Darnold had two of the best deep throws of camp. On the first layered the ball over the underneath linebacker to Elijah Michell who was running up the left seam. A few plays later Darnold put the onto the hands of Ray-Ray McCloud who was running a go route down the left sideline, but McCloud was unable to hang on.

Darnold finished the day with three completions on six attempts, connecting with Jauan Jennings for a highlight reel play to end the practice.

In the competition to back up Brock Purdy, Darnold is currently ahead of Trey Lance.

Brandon Allen

After having a solid day on Thursday, Allen completed just one of four passes. He followed up his completion on a check down with a near interception on a deep throw to the right side.

Kyle Shanahan’s choice to continue giving Allen reps over Lance and Darnold is a curious choice.

Christian McCaffrey

McCaffrey went down hard while running to the left on the opening play of team drills. He bounced right up and went on to record a couple of nice connections with Brock Purdy. The first came on a throw over the middle when he beat the linebacker. A few plays later the two connected on a quick out to the left side.

Jordan Mason

Mason has ran the ball well throughout the first three days of camp. Today he showed up in the passing game as well with a pair of receptions, one from Sam Darnold and the other being the only completion of the day for Brandon Allen.

Colton McKivitz

Expected to replace Mike McGlinchey who left for the Denver Broncos in free agency, McKivitz has looked strong through the first three days of training camp. He has displayed solid footwork in pass protection and appears to be playing with confidence.

George Kittle

Kittle has not been very active in the passing game to this point. He was targeted twice today, the first was an off target throw from Brock Purdy. Purdy came back to Kittle later and the tight end could not hang on to a pass that hit him right between the numbers.

Cameron Latu

The rookie tight end had a mixed day. He continued to look good as a blocker, holding up will in pass protection on a play action call.

However, he still looks like a project as a route runner. Today he had the linebacker beat up the seam but let up and the pass from Purdy sailed incomplete.

Jauan Jennings

Jennings made the highlight catch of the first three days when he made a one-handed grab on a throw over the middle from Sam Darnold. It looked like the pass was going to be too far ahead and high, but Jennings was able to reach out with his right hand and snag the ball.

Javon Hargrave

Hargrave showed up on this list yesterday, and likely will throughout camp. He is a force along the 49ers defensive line, making stops along the line of scrimmage in the run game and generating pressure on the quarterback against the pass.

Arik Armstead

Armstead wasn’t about to let his fellow interior defensive lineman have all the fun. The veteran blew by Aaron Banks for a would be sack of Brock Purdy.

Kevin Givens

Givens has been a solid rotational piece inside for the 49ers defensive line since 2020. He appears to be in terrific shape, showing quickness off the ball. Today he made a couple of plays along the line of scrimmage against the run.

Dee Winters

The rookie linebacker has improved in pass coverage since the offseason program, and today he showcased his speed by running down Ty Davis-Price on an outside run.

D’Shawn Jamison

Jamison was impressive during the offseason program. Today the undrafted rookie free agent had tight coverage on Deebo Samuel to force an incompletion and was all over Danny Gray. The speedy receiver could not shake Jamison.

Taylor Hawkins

Hawkins has been around the ball a few times over the first three days of camp. Today the safety showed off his range by nearly coming away with an interception on a deep throw to the right side from Brandon Allen to Willie Snead.