DETROIT

Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com looks at the progress of the Lions draft class:

Detroit Lions

Round 1 (No. 12): Jahmyr Gibbs, RB. The Lions drafted Gibbs No. 12 for a reason. He is expected to contribute immediately and that’s what he has been doing throughout camp. Gibbs is fulfilling a versatile role — both as a ball carrier and a pass-catcher — for an offense that ranked in the top five last season. He is expected to carry the load with David Montgomery and has impressed teammates. “He is pretty good. In space he is really special,” Lions quarterback Jared Goff said. “That is always our goal. To get guys who are special in space, and he is one of them.”

Round 1 (No. 18): Jack Campbell, ILB. Campbell is fighting for a starting spot among a strong Detroit linebacker group. Veteran Alex Anzalone has earned his job, but Campbell is battling with Derrick Barnes for the other starting role. Campbell has looked good in the preseason and Lions coach Dan Campbell says he has liked the progress the former Iowa standout has made. “I feel like Jack has gotten better every time he’s gone out there and suited up,” Dan Campbell said.

Round 2 (No. 34): Sam LaPorta, TE. LaPorta is projected to start immediately at tight end and has made the most of his first-team reps with Goff in camp. Though a rookie, Campbell said he expects LaPorta to contribute early in the season.

Round 2 (No. 45): Brian Branch, S. Branch has stood out throughout camp and is expected to contribute immediately. Fellow safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson praised him as a “stud, star” and Branch has delivered big hits, including one in the preseason opener against the Giants.

Round 3 (No. 68): Hendon Hooker, QB. Hooker has often been spotted on the field getting throws in after practice, but the Lions haven’t put a timetable on his return as he recovers from an ACL tear in his left knee. Ahead of training camp, Hooker was placed on the non-football injury (NFI) list. If he remains on that list heading into Week 1, Hooker wouldn’t be able to play or practice in the first six weeks of the season. But the Lions have been impressed with his ability to be coached.

Round 3 (No. 96): Brodric Martin, DT. The Lions might have found a hidden gem in Martin, who has impressed general manager Brad Holmes, showing glimpses of his playmaking ability at his size (6-5, 330). He has a good chance to contribute right away.

Round 5 (No. 152): Colby Sorsdal, OT. Sorsdal has improved throughout camp. Although offensive line is among the Lions’ strongest units, Sorsdal has a chance to make the roster.

Round 7 (No. 219): Antoine Green, WR. Green hasn’t done much to separate himself from the pack, even with Jameson Williams serving a six-game suspension. Being able to produce on special teams could help his chances, but it’ll be tough for Green to crack the final roster. — Eric Woodyard

PHILADELPHIA

Tim McManus of ESPN.com assesses the Eagles draft class:

Philadelphia Eagles

Round 1 (No. 9): Jalen Carter, DT. Carter looks poised to make an instant impact. His number of “wow” plays has shot up over the past couple of weeks, most notably when he put All-Pro guard Joel Bitonio on his back during joint practices with the Browns. Carter started the summer working with the third-team offense, but he is now mixing in with the starters and is expected to be a regular part of the rotation starting in the season opener against the Patriots. “The biggest thing is just seeing him go out and destroy people. And being a pro. He’s soaking it up and he’s learning each day,” defensive tackle Fletcher Cox said.

Round 1 (No. 30): Nolan Smith, OLB. Smith has been one of training camp’s biggest standouts. He is lightning-quick around the edge and has the motor to consistently finish plays. Injuries have sidelined Haason Reddick for much of the summer, allowing Smith to get a bunch of reps with the first-team defense. He is on track to be a part of defensive coordinator Sean Desai’s rotation right away. “Man, the kid is a sponge,” Desai said. “He asks questions, he’s watching, he’s learning. He’s another guy who has been having a good camp.”

Round 3 (No. 65): Tyler Steen, G. The starting right guard competition between Steen and second-year lineman Cam Jurgens never materialized. Jurgens has consistently worked with the starters, while Steen is cross-training at both guard and tackle. The coaching staff seems pleased with his development, and he figures to be a key reserve who can plug in at multiple positions should an injury arise.

Round 3 (No. 66): Sydney Brown, S. Brown said he emulates Hall of Famers Brian Dawkins and Troy Polamalu, and that’s reflected in his aggressive, attacking style of play. The Eagles are still determining who will start alongside Reed Blankenship. Brown remains in the mix and should receive playing time early, even if he doesn’t crack the starting lineup.

Round 4 (No. 105): Kelee Ringo, CB. Ringo has been up and down. He has the size (6-foot-2, 205 pounds) and tools to play at a high level but will likely learn at first behind veterans Darius Slay and James Bradberry.

Round 6 (No. 188): Tanner McKee, QB. McKee has been one of the big surprises of the preseason, performing well against both the Ravens and Browns and even sparking some external conversation about whether he should be the No. 2 QB in front of Marcus Mariota. While that talk is premature, McKee has done enough to earn a roster spot.

Round 7 (No. 249): Moro Ojomo, DE. Ojomo was performing pretty well before suffering a concussion against the Browns last week. The Eagles are pretty deep along the defensive line. Whether he makes the initial 53-man roster will depend on if he would make it through waivers so they could sign him to the practice squad. — Tim McManus

ATLANTA

RB BIJAN ROBINSON is among the picks that ESPN’s Michael Rothstein is enthused about:

Atlanta Falcons

Round 1 (No. 8): Bijan Robinson, RB. Robinson has shown he can be everything people thought he might be when Atlanta took him at No. 8 overall. He’s a dynamic, explosive runner who could also end up as the Falcons’ slot receiver. He’s going to play a ton of snaps for Atlanta this season, and even if he doesn’t receive the most carries, he should end up with the most combined touches/targets of any Falcons skill position player.

Round 2 (No. 38): Matthew Bergeron, G. Bergeron is Atlanta’s starting left guard and has been since Matt Hennessy went down with an injury the third day of training camp. It’s still a big transition from tackle, where he played at Syracuse, but Bergeron has handled it well. Playing next to stalwart left tackle Jake Matthews will only help.

Round 3 (No. 75): Zach Harrison, DE. Harrison has mostly been working with the second unit and will likely be in a rotation behind starters David Onyemata and Calais Campbell. How much he plays might depend on the opponent, but he’s going to factor into the defensive line mix this fall.

Round 4 (No. 113): Clark Phillips III, CB. Phillips might end up on special teams early on, but he has gotten some work with the No. 1 unit in the slot. Some of that could be due to an injury to Mike Hughes and Dee Alford being on a rep watch, but Philips has become an early presence. How much he’s on the field could vary by week and grow by season’s end.

Round 7 (No. 224): DeMarcco Hellams, S. Hellams has interceptions in both preseason games and has started getting real looks with the No. 2 defense. That, combined with some first-team special teams work, could put him in position to be the No. 4 safety over Micah Abernathy. Hellams might have played his way onto the roster.

Round 7 (No. 225): Jovaughn Gwyn, G. Gwyn has mostly worked with the third-unit offensive line as a center who can also play some guard. He could be on the roster bubble considering the team’s offensive line depth. At worst, he’ll end up on Atlanta’s practice squad as a developmental player. — Michael Rothstein

ARIZONA

The Cardinals shipped out two picks from the prior regime on Thursday while also picking up QB JOSH DOBBS.  Dobbs, displaced as Cleveland’s backup by DTR, could start in the desert.  Bob McManaman and Jose Romero of the Arizona Republic track the comings and goings.

The Arizona Cardinals traded former first-round draft pick Isaiah Simmons to the New York Giants in exchange for a seventh-round pick in next year’s NFL draft, and that was just the start of a busy day of deals for General Manager Monti Ossenfort.

After team practice at the Minnesota Vikings’ facility in Eagan, Minnesota had ended, two more trades were announced by the Cardinals. Quarterback Josh Dobbs is coming via a trade with the Cleveland Browns and immediately joins the competition for a roster spot to back up whomever will fill in for the still rehabbing Kyler Murray between Colt McCoy and rookie Clayton Tune. And Josh Jones, who has been both a starter and backup offensive tackle, was traded to the Houston Texans.

The Dobbs deal, in which the Cardinals gave up a fifth-round pick next year for Dobbs and a seventh-rounder, was reported by the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Dobbs, 28, has been a backup for virtually all of his time in the league, with eight career games played and two starts, both with the Tennessee Titans last season. He worked with Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing for part of last season in Cleveland when Petzing was the Browns’ quarterbacks coach.

Dobbs becomes the fifth quarterback on the roster (not including Murray), with David Blough and Jeff Driskel also on the team and Blough working as the No. 3 signal caller through Thursday.

All three trades are contingent on Simmons, Jones and Dobbs passing physicals. Simmons was with the Cardinals in Minnesota as recently as Wednesday for the first of two practice sessions against the Vikings ahead of Saturday’s preseason finale at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Thursday’s practice was the Cardinals’ first without Simmons, and as it turned out, also without Jones, who was traded to the Texans with a 2024 seventh-round pick for a fifth-rounder next year. The Cardinals made that trade official Thursday afternoon.

Jones was a backup tackle, the No. 2 left tackle according to the Cardinals’ latest depth chart who made 21 starts over the past two seasons. He was drafted in the third round in 2020 out of the University of Houston and gets to return to his native Texas.

Simmons, 25, was the eighth overall pick in the 2020 draft. A linebacker who played multiple positions at Clemson, the Cardinals tried him at various spots on defense each of the past four years and this offseason, declined to pick up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract, thus making him an unrestricted free agent following the 2023 season.

This year, he was moved to free safety and during last Saturday’s 38-10 loss to the visiting Chiefs, Simmons was beat on a handful of plays, two of which led to scores.

That came after Simmons, during training camp, talked about his satisfaction with the position change.

“Still in camp, which is a good thing, so still got building to do and tasks we need to accomplish,” he said after Saturday’s game.

“We’re always going to make decisions predicated on what we think is best for the team,” Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said Thursday. “Wish Isaiah well, but thought that was the best move for us as we sit here today.

“He did everything we asked him to do,” he continued. “It’s just moving forward we feel like this is how we want to play football against other people, so we’re going to try to put the best guys out there that can function and do a good job for us and that’s what we felt like.”

General manager Monti Ossenfort commented on the trade Thursday, and wished Simmons the best going forward. “The situation presented itself this morning and just where we are in camp, where we are in team, we thought it was the right move to make for us, for the team and just moving forward,” he said.

Ossenfort was also asked if the trade was a product of things building up that Simmons struggled with, or if his last Cardinals game was a bigger factor.

“With all these decisions, it’s a combination. We’re never going to make a snap judgment on one game or one play or you know, anything like that,” he said.

Simmons is close to former Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, with whom he worked out in the offseason before and after Hopkins signed with the Tennessee Titans. Hopkins expressed support for his friend via X, formerly known as Twitter.

“The Giants just got a steal in Isaiah Simmons, 7th rounder,” Hopkins wrote.

Simmons is now the fourth former first-round pick among the last eight selected by the Cardinals who is no longer with the franchise, joining Robert Nkemdiche, Josh Rosen and Haason Reddick.

Ossenfort and Gannon both said the Cardinals aren’t actively trying to stockpile draft picks.

“It doesn’t matter how you got here, once players get in our building, it doesn’t matter. Free agent, drafted, undrafted free agency, high draft pick, whatever,” Ossenfort said. “It’s about what you do for the team now. So ultimately we have to make the best decision, we’ve got to put the best 53 (players) together that we can.”

Simmons’ former teammate Zaven Collins said Simmons became one of his best friends who helped him through rough patches earlier in Collins’ career.

“I wish him nothing but the best while he’s in New York. I think he’s going to excel in many other ways,” Collins said. “So it’s awesome that he can go and just do what he wants to do and be where he’s at. But everyone’s the same. Everyone can be cut, everyone can be traded. We’re all the same.”

Presumably the Cardinals shopped Simmons – and they could only get a 7^th?

Presumably the Browns were shopping Dobbs – and the Cardinals had to pony up two picks to get the journeyman QB?

Dobbs has greater value than Simmons?

SAN FRANCISCO

GM John Lynch with optimism on a contract for EDGE NICK BOSA.

With less than three weeks before the regular season starts, 49es defensive end Nick Bosa is still holding out for a new contract.

49ers GM John Lynch appeared on KNBR’s “Murph & Mac” show Thursday and talkied about Bosa’s situation.

“I don’t like the situation,” Lynch said. “Since our tenure here, we haven’t had a holdout anywhere toward this magnitude. Not something I’m comfortable with. We are working really hard to try to change that. We are in good communication with his reps.”

“He’s a special player, he’s going to get a special contract, I can tell you that,” Lynch said. “We are getting closer and eager to bring this thing to a close, but I’ll leave it at that. We’ve talked from the beginning, Nick, myself and his representatives about, ‘Let’s keep this thing in-house,’ so we will continue to do that. Just know that we are working diligently to bring it to a close.”

Bosa will need some practice time to get in playing shape and to be involved in game planning.

– – –

The DB isn’t ready to proclaim QB TREY LANCE a bust, because circumstances have not yet let him actually fail on the field.  He may have just been the wrong QB at the wrong time and he could flourish elsewhere (not that anybody seems to be in a hurry to let him try).  In any case, Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com dissects what went wrong with the Niners.

The Trey Lance era in San Francisco is essentially over before it even began. What felt like a dramatic declaration of intent from one of the league’s best franchises in March 2021 ended meekly on a depth chart Wednesday. The 49ers confirmed that they intend to use Sam Darnold as the primary backup to second-year quarterback Brock Purdy. In the course of 12 months and after playing just five competitive quarters of football, Lance has gone from being the team’s quarterback of the future to a third-stringer and trade candidate. The trade that was supposed to signal San Francisco’s future turned out to be one of the worst deals in recent memory.

Before we get to what happened Wednesday, think for a moment about what has happened in Lance’s life since he posted a nearly flawless 2019 season at North Dakota State. At 19 years old, he ran for 1,100 yards and threw 28 touchdown passes without a single interception, and the Bison went 16-0 to win the FCS national title. Even allowing for the level of play, it had to have been one of the most impressive redshirt freshman seasons in college football history.

What happened next is hard to believe. A global pandemic shut down the world and limited Lance to one game in 2020. He declared for the draft and was selected by the 49ers at No. 3 overall — they gave up a huge haul to move up the board — but a preseason injury to his index finger prevented him from getting consistent reps in practice in 2021. He started two games as an injury fill-in for Jimmy Garoppolo, averaging 8.5 yards per attempt and running for 168 total yards. Given the QB1 job last season, Lance started Week 1 in near-unplayable mud in Chicago and then broke his leg in the first quarter of Week 2 against Seattle.

Now, after Purdy’s emergence and a frustrating preseason, Lance’s career with the 49ers is likely done. It would be a surprise if he was on their roster after the trade deadline on Oct. 31.

This a defensible move for the 49ers, who have Super Bowl aspirations and a quarterback who has proved himself to be a valuable contributor. Purdy, the final pick of the 2022 draft, excelled during the second half of the season in an offense that thrived attacking linebackers and safeties in coverage with the duo of Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle. Again, consider Lance’s luck: McCaffrey was acquired after he was injured, and while Kittle played 15 games, the two games he missed were Lance’s two starts.

How did Lance and the 49ers get here? How much value does Lance, who just turned 23 in May, have in a potential trade? Which teams would be smart to try to add him? And what does this draft miss say about San Francisco’s future? Let’s dig into the ramifications of Lance’s drop down the depth chart:

Did Lance actually get a fair shot?

Should it be a surprise that 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan turned back to the sort of quarterback archetype he’s thrived with as a coach? Probably not, although it would have seemed shocking this time last year. Shanahan’s best seasons as a playcaller have overwhelmingly come with pocket passers Matt Schaub, Kirk Cousins, Matt Ryan, Garoppolo and Purdy. The exception is Robert Griffin, and when Griffin got hurt and teams grew more familiar with the zone read and the Pistol, Washington faded and turned to Cousins.

I was fully onboard with the idea of drafting Lance, whose rushing ability gave Shanahan the final piece of his positionless football puzzle and gave the 49ers six eligible players on every snap who could run with the ball. Going with a cost-effective option at quarterback gave the 49ers the ability to spend heavily on playmakers around that signal-caller, and with the league developing more solutions to stop the outside zone-heavy scheme Shanahan had excelled with in previous years, Lance was going to be an essential piece of a more diverse run game that made the defense wrong regardless of how they lined up to match San Francisco’s personnel.

We never really got there. The 49ers ran some of that in Lance’s two starts as a rookie, but the only time we saw that version of the offense was in 2022, and he was injured by the first drive of Week 2. When he came back this preseason, San Francisco didn’t call a single designed run for him, understandably preferring to keep him healthy and get him more reps as a passer.

Without the designed runs to play to Lance’s physical tools, he was forced to rely on his ability as a pure passer. Unsurprisingly, the 49ers didn’t love what they saw. His anticipation to see windows coming open didn’t stand out. He wasn’t confident or decisive. His decision-making was iffy at best, and his ball placement on a screen led to an interception. On the merits of his play as a passer, Lance was closer to No. 4 quarterback Brandon Allen than he was to Darnold.

That shouldn’t be a big surprise. Lance has thrown 132 in-game passes over the past three seasons. He has thrown 420 competitive passes since high school, most of which came at the FCS level. He looks and plays like a quarterback who desperately needs reps. The 49ers, with Super Bowl aspirations, aren’t in a position to sacrifice a season and give him those reps in the hopes that he develops into the player they were hoping to acquire in 2021. Purdy is better than Lance right now. Darnold looked to be in the preseason, although the former Jets and Panthers passer has a well-established track record when the games count of getting overwhelmed when pressured or in a situation where he’s trailing.

Can Lance play? It’s clear we haven’t seen enough of him on gameday to be sure. The implication from San Francisco’s decision is that he hadn’t looked great at practice, but again, with what experience? Lance couldn’t straighten his finger as a rookie because of the preseason injury, which impacted his mechanics and set him back as a passer. The 49ers were still confident enough to put Garoppolo on the trade block all spring and summer of 2022, only keeping Garoppolo after shoulder surgery eliminated the market for their veteran signal-caller. Lance then got injured two weeks into the regular season.

There is a big difference — a potential franchise-altering difference — between “Trey Lance can’t play” and “Trey Lance hasn’t had a chance to prove that he can play.” It’s pretty clear from what I’ve written that I believe the latter to be true. The former might turn out to be the case, but he doesn’t have much hope of getting better without more opportunities to play than he has had since being drafted in 2021.

What would it take to trade for Lance?

Again, Lance is still only 23 years old. He’s nearly a year younger than Will Levis, who was just drafted by the Titans. He’s younger than Joe Burrow was when Burrow made his NFL debut. He’s a half-year younger than Baker Mayfield when Mayfield debuted and nearly two years younger than Kenny Pickett. Those guys had far more college reps when they entered the league. Lance still has time to catch up if he gets an opportunity elsewhere.

Where would that opportunity come? Lance doesn’t have much trade value. He’s owed $940,000 for the remainder of 2023 and $5.3 million in 2024, all of which is guaranteed. Any team acquiring him would also have the ability to decide on a fifth-year option for 2025, although it’s unlikely to be exercised unless he gets significant playing time and exceeds everyone’s expectations this season. Given that the 49ers have little leverage in a market in which every team knows they want to move on from him, it would be a surprise if they landed more than a midround pick in return.

Money won’t be an issue in acquiring Lance, but opportunity will be. Any team trading for him will want to give him real-life reps in meaningful game action to see whether they actually have a superstar quarterback in the making. Installing the sort of quarterback run game that would play to Lance’s physical traits is extremely tough to do in-season, so that might have to wait until 2024, leaving him to rely mostly on his pure passing ability this season.

Getting him those reps might compromise the team’s competitiveness, so it could make sense for teams to see how they’re performing early in the season before trading for him and committing to giving him time in the second half of the season. If that’s the case, a trade could be more likely around the trade deadline as opposed to mid-August.

Seven teams that should consider trading for him

Nearly a quarter of the league should be giving some semblance of consideration to a Lance trade at one cost or another. You can split those teams up into two tiers. There are three teams that should actively be pursuing a deal:

Minnesota Vikings: They have a blank slate staring them in the face at quarterback. Kirk Cousins is 35 and a free agent after this season. Minnesota used a fifth-round pick on Jaren Hall in April’s draft, but it would be a major surprise if it moved forward with Hall as the starter in 2024. Trading for Lance would give the Vikings their first post-Cousins candidate on offense, and if they do fall out of the playoff race this season, Lance could start seeing snaps in December. They’re the best candidate of the bunch.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Baker Mayfield just beat out Kyle Trask to be their starter. Mayfield was the league’s worst quarterback last season, while Trask has thrown nine regular-season passes since being drafted in Round 2 in 2021. The Bucs will likely be in the quarterback market next offseason, so trading for Lance would give them an option to consider at the end of 2023 and into 2024.

Atlanta Falcons: They are full steam ahead with Desmond Ridder, but the 2022 third-rounder averaged 6.2 yards per attempt in his first four starts last season. He deserves time to figure things out and will get it as Atlanta’s Week 1 starter, but the Falcons spent heavily on their defense and have too much talent on offense to settle in a wide-open NFC South. Adding Lance would allow coach Arthur Smith to integrate the quarterback into the team’s rushing attack, as he did with Marcus Mariota a year ago. This might be more likely to happen around Halloween if Ridder struggles through an uneven September and October.

In the second tier, there are four teams that might consider moving for Lance as a backup or emergency option at the right price. (I’d add the Rams if the 49ers were willing to deal Lance within the division.) Lance wouldn’t have a clear path to starting if any of these teams acquired him, though. Those teams are:

Tennessee Titans: They have a former 49ers executive on staff in Ran Carthon, who took over as Tennessee’s general manager this offseason. Like the Vikings, the Titans have a veteran quarterback entering the final year of his deal in Ryan Tannehill. Unlike Minnesota, though, Tennessee has a pair of top-100 picks behind Tannehill — 2022 third-rounder Malik Willis and 2023 second-rounder Will Levis. It would be a surprise if they added Lance to the mix, but the best way to find a franchise quarterback might be to have as many prospects as possible.

Miami Dolphins: They are committed to Tua Tagovailoa through 2024, but he has missed time in each of his three seasons with injuries, most recently a series of frightening concussions a year ago. If Tagovailoa suffers a career-impacting injury, the Dolphins don’t have a long-term replacement on the roster. Lance would be reunited in Miami with former 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, who could reimagine his offense with Lance’s skill set.

Denver Broncos: They are really, really hoping Sean Payton can turn Russell Wilson around in 2023. If not, while Wilson might not be cuttable before 2025, they’ll want serious competition for the veteran quarterback in 2024. Jarrett Stidham is on the roster as Wilson’s backup, but Payton has been interested in taking a chance on a high-upside quarterback before; remember that he and the Saints were planning to draft Mahomes before the Chiefs beat them to the punch.

Kansas City Chiefs: Of course, they don’t need a quarterback any time soon with Mahomes there. Blaine Gabbert is the primary backup behind the reigning MVP, but with the league’s foremost quarterback whisperer in Andy Reid, could Kansas City rebuild Lance and make him some combination of a high-end backup and future trade chip? It seems wild, but ask the 49ers if they regret trading for Steve Young when they had Joe Montana under center. Reid, Mike Holmgren and the other coaches from that tree have repeatedly valued having a promising signal-caller playing behind their starter, either for trade purposes or in case of injury. Reid isn’t going to get a chance to add a higher-upside quarterback at a cheaper cost (in terms of cash or draft capital) than Lance.

What does this say about the 49ers’ recent draft history?

To take it back to the original Lance trade, it’s impossible to cast this in hindsight as anything but one of the worst outcomes for a trade in recent NFL history. Antonio Brown didn’t cost the Raiders as much when he was cut before ever playing a single down with the team. Russell Wilson was an upgrade on Drew Lock, at least. The Falcons got a first-round pick for Brett Favre. The Herschel Walker trade was an entirely different sort of deal, but the Lance trade turned out worse than the Jets’ deal for Darnold, the Commanders sending multiple first-rounders for Robert Griffin or the Saints sending one entire draft for Ricky Williams.

I understand why the 49ers made the initial move, and I’ve laid out why what happened is a product of circumstance more than subpar decision-making. I also believe we need to evaluate trades including draft picks from two different perspectives, considering both the capital the team gave up separate from the players who the other team eventually used those picks to acquire. It’s still good to trade a fifth-round pick for a second-round selection, even if the player who gets drafted in the second round ends up being disappointing.

Well, in every way, this deal was a disaster. The 49ers sent three first-round picks to move up from No. 12 in the 2021 draft, throwing in a third-round selection for good measure. Even given that the Niners were successful in 2021 and 2022 and sent over the 29th picks in consecutive drafts, this is an enormous amount of draft capital. By the draft chart derived from historical data by Chase Stuart, they sent the equivalent of the first and 19th overall picks in a typical draft to acquire Lance. A team can’t make a trade like that unless it’s adding a player at a premium position and is sure it’s going to work out. It clearly didn’t for the 49ers.

Now, add what happened with the picks the 49ers dealt away in the 2021 draft. The Dolphins moved down from No. 3 to No. 12, but then sent a first-round pick to the Eagles to move back up to No. 6. They drafted Jaylen Waddle. The Eagles moved up from No. 12 to No. 10 and took DeVonta Smith. And if you’re going to be shortsighted and argue that the 49ers wouldn’t have benefited from those players because they didn’t need a wide receiver, Micah Parsons is the guy who came off the board in their original spot at No. 12.

Every other team won this deal. The Dolphins used their two first-round picks to serve as the majority of the draft capital in their trades for Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb. The Eagles used the other first-round pick as the majority of the trade to move up for Jordan Davis. The Cowboys landed arguably the best defensive player in football when the 49ers could have theoretically combined him with Nick Bosa, one of the other guys who has a claim as the league’s best defender.

This isn’t the first high pick the 49ers have missed on under the regime of Shanahan and general manager John Lynch, either. Lance would be the most spectacular disappointment, but the first-round picks they have made have been a mixed bag at best. Of the seven players they’ve drafted in the first round, just two — Bosa and Brandon Aiyuk — will be starters on the 2023 roster. Lance could be traded soon. Solomon Thomas has bounced around the league, Reuben Foster is out of football, Javon Kinlaw has disappointed and had his fifth-year option declined, and the 49ers didn’t make a serious effort to re-sign Mike McGlinchey, who joined the Broncos on a massive deal in free agency.

Given where those players were drafted, the 49ers have underperformed in Round 1. Three (Lance, Thomas and Bosa) were drafted in the top three picks. About 71% of players drafted in the top three have their fifth-year option picked up under the post-2011 draft rules. The 49ers went 1-for-3. Bosa is a superstar, but the 49ers drafted Thomas at No. 3 when their starting quarterback was Brian Hoyer. They passed up the opportunity to draft either Deshaun Watson or Patrick Mahomes.

About 52% of players drafted in the top 10 from 2011-19 earned a second contract from the team that drafted them, got hit with a franchise tag or netted a significant haul via trade, as DeForest Buckner did for the 49ers. The Niners went 1-for-4 here. McGlinchey signed a significant contract with the Broncos, but teams don’t let top-10 picks out the door on rookie deals if they live up to expectations. San Francisco will get a third-round compensatory pick for him, which helps soften the blow, but even the next tackle off the board was Kolton Miller, who has become a better player at a more difficult position (left tackle).

Why the Lance miss matters for the 49ers’ past, present and future

I’ve seen the argument that this doesn’t really matter because the 49ers have been extremely successful over the past two seasons and found gems in the later rounds of the draft. Landing players such as Talanoa Hufanga, Dre Greenlaw and Purdy on Day 3 of the draft is great. The idea that somehow that insulates or excuses a team from nailing its first-round picks is ridiculous. No team can count on hitting all of its picks, but the best organizations hit on late-round picks and on their fair share of first-rounders, too.

The only way we can say it doesn’t matter is if the 49ers had won the Super Bowl. They’ve come close but haven’t, which makes the failure of Lance and Thomas even more damaging than it would have been for an irrelevant team because of the championship leverage better picks in those spots could have swung. They might look like a dynasty right now if they had nailed those first-round picks and also hit on the other selections made in the later rounds. Instead, they’re best-known for coming up just short during the Shanahan era.

In 2019, the 49ers advanced to the Super Bowl and were leading in the fourth quarter before coming up short. Would drafting Watson or Mahomes instead of Thomas (and trading for Garoppolo) have made the difference? Even if you want to insist on a pass-rusher, Thomas played 30% of the snaps in that game, and his only appearance on the stat sheet was a neutral zone infraction. Do the 49ers hold up in coverage if they draft, say, Marshon Lattimore or Marlon Humphrey with their first-round pick? Do they get an extra pressure or two in the fourth quarter if they draft Jonathan Allen instead of Thomas?

After an injury-hit 2020, the 49ers made it back to the NFC Championship Game in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, only to lose both times. In 2021, they had a 17-7 fourth-quarter lead on the Rams, failed to score on three possessions, dropped a gift of an interception from Matthew Stafford and allowed the Rams to score 13 unanswered points to steal the conference title. Garoppolo was already entrenched as their starting quarterback, but on a day in which the Niners sacked Stafford only twice on 47 dropbacks, couldn’t Parsons have made the difference? Would another playmaker such as Smith or Waddle have stretched the Rams’ secondary?

49ers will look to trade Trey Lance before the roster cut-down day.

Then, in 2022, the 49ers were blown out by the Eagles after Purdy tore his UCL in the first quarter. Maybe it wasn’t San Francisco’s day. Of course, the only reason Purdy was playing was because Lance fractured his fibula in Week 2 and gave way to Garoppolo, who subsequently broke his foot in December. We don’t know what the 49ers would have done at quarterback without Lance in the picture, but if they had stayed put and drafted Mac Jones, who was still on the board at their original pick at No. 12, maybe they wouldn’t have had to rely on their fourth-string quarterback against the league’s fiercest pass rush.

Those examples fail to consider what those draft picks would have done in the years to come. Those 2021, 2022 and 2023 first-round picks are players who project to be key components of their respective rosters. It’s great to hope a team can land stars with midround picks year after year to replace those first-rounders, but even with extra compensatory picks, we have too many examples from across the league telling us it won’t be able to pull that off for too long. The 49ers will have to deal with lesser players in those roles in the years to come and/or make low-probability moves in free agency.

Alternatively, they could have used those picks to land their own veterans such as Chubb or Hill; they fell even further behind the eight-ball when they traded three picks to land McCaffrey in a deal with the Panthers last season. First-round picks aren’t a guarantee a team will land anything, but they’re the best chance of landing the superstars it will need to win a Super Bowl. The 49ers have already felt the impact of missing out on those picks, and that gap will only be even more noticeable in 2023 and beyond.

All of these hypotheticals involve the benefit of hindsight, so it isn’t designed to criticize the choices San Francisco made at the time. It’s instead to point out just how disappointing those picks have been and how damaging its failure has been, even given everything else that’s gone right over that stretch. We could very easily be looking at a team with a Super Bowl victory and at least one more trip to the big game with better picks in the top five.

Landing on Purdy gives the 49ers hope for the future and a low-cost quarterback for the next two seasons, but what happens if he doesn’t have the ceiling the 49ers envisioned with Lance? What if he takes a step backward this season? What if the 49ers don’t make it back to the Super Bowl with this core? Two things are true: They have gotten a lot right, but they might have accomplished all of their goals if their biggest swings had connected.

LOS ANGELES RAMS

The wonderful name “Cooper Kupp” hasn’t appeared in the DB in a while.  It does today.  ESPN.com:

Star Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp said Thursday he feels like he’ll be ready to play Week 1 when his team visits the Seattle Seahawks.

“Yeah, I feel like I am,” Kupp said Thursday after a joint practice with the Denver Broncos when asked if feels like he’s on pace to play against the Seahawks on Sept. 10.

Kupp had been sidelined by a hamstring injury he sustained Aug. 1 but returned to practices with the Rams this week.

Kupp said that the repetitions in practice this week have been invaluable with preparing him for the start of the regular season.

“I definitely felt the first two days coming back here earlier this week, just felt like you’re rushing things,” Kupp said. “You feel like your hands and feet aren’t working together. … It might be seeing the patterns of the defense, might be just feeling like you’re behind the snap mentally which is just never a place you want to be. You want to be able to be ahead of that thing so you can play fast.

“But man, just the importance it showed me of just repetition and being able to be out there and see things live and going through those reps and feeling them out from day one to two to three to four now, the game just slows down progressively. So that’s why I’m saying like going out there Week 1 would be tough not having that opportunity to see those reps and have those reps and that kind of stuff in your back pocket and be able see those patterns. So, [I] feel good about what kind of path we’re on now.”

Kupp said he doesn’t plan on playing Saturday when the Rams play the Broncos in their preseason finale.

“I don’t plan on playing on Saturday,” he said. “If it was a game, yeah. Game one, I’m playing.”

Kupp, the MVP of Super Bowl LVI, missed the final eight games of 2022 with a high ankle sprain, finishing with 75 catches for 812 yards and six touchdowns.

A year earlier, he won the NFL’s triple crown of receiving, leading the league in catches (145), receiving yards (1,947) and touchdowns (16). He starred during the Rams’ playoff run, culminating in two touchdown catches in the Super Bowl, including the winner with 1:25 to play.

SEATTLE

Did Seattle strike gold with its two first round picks this year?  Brady Henderson of ESPN.com assesses the draft class:

Seattle Seahawks

Round 1 (No. 5): Devon Witherspoon, CB. Witherspoon hasn’t had a smooth summer. He missed the first two practices of training camp amid an ill-fated holdout and has been sidelined since Aug. 7 with an injury to his left hamstring, the same one that slowed him in the spring. There doesn’t seem to be much concern about his availability for the start of the season, but Witherspoon has missed a lot of time while battling for the left cornerback and nickelback jobs. The highest draft pick of the John Schneider/Pete Carroll era will almost certainly be filling one of those two roles come Week 1, but it’s probably asking too much at this point for him to do both.

Round 1 (No. 20): Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR. Before suffering a wrist injury that will put his Week 1 status in question, Smith-Njigba was looking more polished and ready to contribute than any Seahawks rookie since Tyler Lockett in 2015. His route-running has been as smooth as advertised, and he’s even shown the ability to get behind defensive backs more than his 40 time would suggest. Garrett Wilson-like production might be asking too much, but he’ll be a difference-maker in the slot, especially on third down. “He’s been amazing,” quarterback Drew Lock said. “The biggest part about him is his composure. Not once have I felt like he’s a rookie when he’s out there. He’s confident in himself. He knows what he’s doing.”

Round 2 (No. 37): Derick Hall, OLB. Hall has shown some pass-rush juice in practice and in the preseason, with a sack and another quarterback hit in Game 2 vs. Dallas. He might not be a starter but he’ll play extensively in Seattle’s outside linebacker rotation.

Round 2 (No. 52): Zach Charbonnet, RB. Charbonnet has looked like a complete back, showing the ability to run with speed and power, catch the ball out of the backfield and hold his own in pass protection. He’s also impressed coaches behind the scenes with his preparation. Kenneth Walker III is still Seattle’s RB1, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if Charbonnet averages around 10 touches per game in the No. 2 role.

Round 4 (No. 108): Anthony Bradford, G. Bradford missed some time in the spring after hitting his head in a fender-bender. He’s now healthy, but hasn’t given Phil Haynes much of a run for the starting job at right guard, so he appears slated for a backup role.

Round 4 (No. 123): Cameron Young, DT. There were some in the organization who thought Young would be the Seahawks’ starting nose tackle as a rookie, but the team has since moved veteran Jarran Reed from end to nose. Young has missed time with a calf injury.

Round 5 (No. 151): Mike Morris, DE. It’s still unclear whether Morris can help out more as a rotational pass-rusher or a run defender, but he’s on track to make the team as a backup to Dre’Mont Jones and Mario Edwards Jr. The shoulder injury that sidelined him for the second preseason game doesn’t appear to be serious.

Round 5 (No. 154): Olu Oluwatimi, C. Oluwatimi was already behind veteran Evan Brown in the competition to start at center when he suffered a minor elbow injury in the preseason opener. So he’s slated to be the backup center, at least to begin the season.

Round 6 (No. 198): Jerrick Reed II, S. Of Seattle’s 10 draft picks, Reed seems to be in the most danger of not making the team. Undrafted rookie Jonathan Sutherland has been ahead of him on the depth chart at safety since the spring.

Round 7 (No. 237): Kenny McIntosh, RB. McIntosh was off to a nice start in camp before he suffered a knee sprain in early August. He should be back by the opener and is a safe bet to make the 53-player roster, though it remains to be seen if he can help out enough on special teams to be active on game days. — Brady Henderson

DENVER

It took a cart to get WR JERRY JEUDY off the Broncos practice field.  Nick Kosmider of The Athletic says it could be worse.

Denver Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy is expected to miss several weeks with a moderate hamstring injury suffered in practice Thursday, a team source confirmed. The NFL Network first reported the news. Here’s what you need to know:

Jeudy was carted off the field during a joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams. The injury occurred on a run play and it appeared to be non-contact.

This news could put his availability for Week 1, when the Broncos play the Las Vegas Raiders, in jeopardy.

Jeudy, 24, led the Broncos last season with 972 receiving yards and six touchdowns.

The Athletic’s instant analysis:

Injuries piling up for Broncos WRs

The Broncos were already dealing with significant injury issues at the receiver position before Jeudy went down Thursday. Tim Patrick suffered a torn Achilles on the fifth day of camp. KJ Hamler was waived with a non-football illness designation related to a heart condition. Jalen Virgil went on season-ending IR after suffering a knee injury in Saturday’s preseason game against the 49ers. Brandon Johnson also suffered an ankle injury that kept him out of practice for two weeks, but he has since returned to practice.

Any extended absence from Jeudy, the team’s most productive receiver last season, would be a major blow to an offense that is growing thin on playmakers.

Backstory

Jeudy, a first-round pick of the Broncos in 2020, was one of the most productive receivers in the NFL over the last six weeks last season. In those six games, he caught 37 passes for 523 yards and three touchdowns, catching 82.2 percent of the passes thrown his way.

That closing stretch helped inform Denver’s decision to pick up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract back in March.

LAS VEGAS

Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com on the Raiders draft class:

Las Vegas Raiders

Round 1 (No. 7): Tyree Wilson, DE. Wilson, who underwent surgery in March on the right foot he injured last November and had a follow-up procedure to remove hardware before the draft, came off the non-football injury list on Aug. 16. The Raiders have no real timeline for getting Wilson up to speed enough to play in a game. They do have plans, though, on him potentially joining both Maxx Crosby and Chandler Jones on the same line when he’s healthy. “You see him asking a ton of questions and getting better,” Crosby said of Wilson. “So, it’s awesome to see him out there with us.”

Round 2 (No. 35): Michael Mayer, TE. Mayer was taking enough first-team reps early in camp to allow the Raiders to waive O.J. Howard. Crosby gave him his NFL baptism-by-fire moment on the first day in pads — Mayer was working on his blocking — and a lower left leg injury slowed Mayer’s progress before he started the Raiders’ exhibition at the Rams.

Round 3 (No. 70): Byron Young, DT. Young opened camp on the PUP list with an undisclosed injury and did not start practicing until Aug. 6. His physical play, though, has impressed the coaching staff and put him in the mix for quality snaps and reps in a crowded D-tackle room in need of new blood.

Round 3 (No. 100): Tre Tucker, WR. Tucker is as quick as he is slight (5-foot-8, 182 pounds) and more than capable of stretching the field, even as he has been battling the “dropsies,” on occasion. Still, Tucker has also been returning punts, with his versatility making him more valuable.

Round 4 (No. 104): Jakorian Bennett, CB. How impressive has Bennett been in making his case to start opposite Marcus Peters? Bennett did not play in the Raiders’ exhibition at the Rams, a luxury usually afforded starters.

Round 4 (No. 135): Aidan O’Connell, QB. O’Connell’s impressive play in two exhibitions (26-of-36 passing for 304 yards with three touchdown passes and zero interceptions) has put him in position to possibly supplant Brian Hoyer as Jimmy Garoppolo’s backup. O’Connell has been the NFL’s most impressive rookie quarterback in the preseason, for what that’s worth.

Round 5 (No. 170): Chris Smith II, S. Smith is caught in a bit of a numbers crunch in the secondary, with Marcus Epps and Tre’von Moehrig solidifying the starting safety gigs. Smith will have to make the team as depth and/or on special teams play.

Round 6 (No. 203): Amari Burney, OLB. Burney has quietly opened eyes as an outside linebacker in coverage. And while Divine Deablo is the starter, Burney is taking advantage of a revamped and somewhat battered LB room to potentially carve out a roster spot.

Round 7 (No. 231): Nesta Jade Silvera, DT. Undersized at 6-2, 304 pounds, Silvera has flashed violently at times but has also gone radio silent. It’s a crowded DT room, so Silvera has to make more noise, perhaps on special teams, to make the 53-man roster. — Paul Gutierrez

BALTIMORE

Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com with this on the Ravens draft class, including WR ZAY FLOWERS who should be on your Fantasy lists:

Baltimore Ravens

Round 1 (No. 22): Zay Flowers, WR. Flowers has a chance to become Lamar Jackson’s No. 1 wide receiver because of his ability to get open and elude tacklers. Jackson nicknamed Flowers “Joystick” after the wide receiver juked out middle linebacker Roquan Smith in the first practice of training camp. In the second preseason game, Flowers scored a 26-yard touchdown in which he had 21 yards after the catch. Last season, Baltimore recorded five receptions of 20-plus yards after the catch, the fewest in the NFL. “Zay is a special talent,” wide receivers coach Greg Lewis said.

Round 3 (No. 86): Trenton Simpson, ILB. Simpson will be a core special teams player as a rookie and compete for a starting job next year. Known for his versatility, he could line up at inside or outside linebacker in 2024, depending on whether weakside linebacker Patrick Queen leaves in free agency next offseason. Right now, Simpson is the top backup to Queen and Smith.

Round 4 (No. 124): Tavius Robinson, DE. Robinson is a developmental pass-rusher who will make an immediate impact on special teams. With his size and length, Baltimore is hoping he can become the next midround pick by the Ravens to emerge as a formidable edge rusher, joining the likes of Matthew Judon and Za’Darius Smith.

Round 5 (No. 157): Kyu Kelly, CB. Kelly has had his struggles in preseason and in training camp, but he always competes. Despite the numerous injuries at cornerback for Baltimore, Kelly has not significantly moved up the depth chart. He’s a reserve corner as a rookie.

Round 6 (No. 199): Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, OT. The biggest surprise of the Ravens’ draft class is Aumavae-Laulu, who is battling John Simpson for the starting left guard spot. The Ravens love his size (6-foot-5, 325 pounds) and how he pushes around linemen in the run game.

Round 7 (No. 229): Andrew Vorhees, G. This is essentially a redshirt year for Vorhees, who tore the ACL in his right knee at the NFL combine in March. The Ravens believe he can eventually compete for starting job on the interior of the offensive line. — Jamison Hensley

PITTSBURGH

The DB has been thinking the Steelers will be sneaky good this year.  They were great against the Falcons backups Thursday night.  Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com:

It was an unfair fight.

The Steelers starters against the Falcons backups was no match Thursday night in the preseason finale for both teams.

The Steelers went 92 and 29 yards for touchdowns on two drives before Kenny Pickett and company called it a night. They played 11 snaps. It’s all they needed.

Pickett threw a 35-yard pass to George Pickens and a 33-yarder to Diontae Johnson, finishing 4-of-4 for 86 yards. Najee Harris scored on a 1-yard run, and Jaylen Warren reached paydirt on an 8-yarder.

Of course, the Steelers first-team offense has been unstoppable the entire preseason. They took 10 and seven snaps in the first two preseason games and scored touchdowns on every possession.

The Steelers first-team offense scored five touchdowns on five possessions in three preseason games.

Bring on the regular season.

Pickett finished the preseason 13-of-15 for 199 yards and two touchdowns.

Edge rusher T.J. Watt played just long enough to have a sack of Taylor Heinicke. The Falcons had minus-7 yards on their first two drives.

Mitch Trubisky replaced Pickett on the team’s third drive of the first quarter.

INDIANAPOLIS

QB ANTHONY RICHARDSON did okay Thursday night, not very accurate but he ran well.  Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com:

Heading into the draft, quarterback Anthony Richardson was seen as a prospect with immense potential and a need for refinement before he’d be able to thrive at the professional level.

Richardson’s final preseason outing did little to change that picture. He played the entire first half against the Eagles and led three scoring drives while going 6-of-17 through the air. The six completions generated 78 yards and Richardson also ran five times for 38 yards as he showed both inaccuracy and an ability to make plays as both a passer and a runner over the course of the first half.

After the game, Colts head coach Shane Steichen said Richardson’s “ability to create outside the pocket is definitely going to help us” while noting that there’s a lot to work on in the weeks to come.

“Shoot, I thought he did a solid job,” Steichen said at his press conference. “We scored three out of the first four drives, which is good. The two-minute drive wasn’t what we wanted, but we’ll go back, look at the tape. I thought he did some really good things and some things we’ve got to clean up as well.”

The regular season will bring a different level of preparation for opposing teams and Richardson said he is “excited to see the way we game plan” on a weekly basis. Plenty of others will be watching to see how the Colts make use of Richardson’s skills while working to develop him into a quarterback who can lead the team for years to come.

TENNESSEE

Turon Davenport of ESPN.com assesses the Titans draft class:

Tennessee Titans

Round 1 (No. 11): Peter Skoronski, OT. Skoronski has impressed from the first day of rookie minicamp. The transition has been seamless for Skoronski even though he initially worked at both guard and tackle in OTAs. Skoronski has taken all of the first-team reps at left guard since the start of training camp. He is gaining valuable experience by facing Tennessee’s elite defensive front daily in practice. “He’s getting better going against Jeffery Simmons every day and working different techniques while battling with him,” offensive line coach Jason Houghtaling said.

Round 2 (No. 33): Will Levis, QB. Levis has stood out, especially during red zone periods, where his quick release and rocket arm have helped him fit the ball into tight spaces. He is in a tight battle with second-year player Malik Willis for the backup position. Barring an injury to starter Ryan Tannehill, it’s unlikely that Levis plays this season.

Round 3 (No. 81): Tyjae Spears, RB. Spears has shown he can be the perfect complement to Derrick Henry. He has shown the ability to pick up a blitzing linebacker in pass protection, break tackles and run away from defenders and catch the ball out of the backfield. Spears will get plenty of opportunities to spell Henry and as a third-down back.

Round 5 (No. 147): Josh Whyle, TE. Whyle has shown enough in practice to earn a roster spot and play some snaps during the regular season. His 6-6, 247-pound frame will give the Titans a viable mismatch against safeties and linebackers.

Round 6 (No. 186): Jaelyn Duncan, OT. Duncan has likely made the 53-man roster because of his ability to play left and right tackle. The Titans will use him mostly as a swing tackle, but he does have an outside shot at the starting right tackle spot that was vacated by last season’s starter Nicholas Petit-Frere, who’s serving a six-game suspension for violating the league’s gambling policy.

Round 7 (No. 228): Colton Dowell, WR. Dowell is among five receivers fighting for two spots on the roster and will need a standout performance in the final preseason game to strengthen his case. The physical traits are all there, but Dowell hasn’t been consistent. — Turron Davenport

NEW ENGLAND

Mike Reiss of ESPN.com takes a look at the Patriots draft class:

New England Patriots

Round 1 (No. 17): Christian Gonzalez, CB. He has primarily been working with the starters and has gained valuable experience in the preseason (59 snaps), which included absorbing a powerful blow from Texans receiver Nico Collins on his first snap. It was a notable beginning considering some scouts have knocked Gonzalez’s physicality. “He told me it woke him up a little bit, but he said he needed that,” veteran DB Jalen Mills said.

Round 2 (No. 46): Keion White, DE. The 6-5, 290-pound White was a standout performer in the preseason opener (three tackles, three QB pressures) and projects as a versatile chess piece on defense — likely as a backup to open the season. He further won over his teammates by catching a punt at the end of one practice to earn the team reduced meeting time.

Round 3 (No. 76): Marte Mapu, ILB. Splitting his time between a traditional linebacker role and deep safety, Mapu projects as a package-specific option. He has yet to play in a game as he returns from February surgery to repair a torn right pectoral muscle.

Round 4 (No. 107): Jake Andrews, C. It’s been all backup repetitions as a center and guard, with the two linemen drafted after Andrews (Sidy Sow, Atonio Mafi) ahead of him on the depth chart.

Round 4 (No. 112): Chad Ryland, K. He has shown a big leg, but like most rookie kickers, Ryland is searching for consistency. He is the likely opening-day kicker over veteran Nick Folk, who still looks effective.

Round 4 (No. 117): Sidy Sow, G. Mostly working at right tackle instead of guard, Sow has been bumped up to the top group due to a run of injuries/illnesses ahead of him. In an ideal Patriots world, he’d be No. 4 on the depth chart and given more time to develop.

Round 5 (No. 144): Atonio Mafi, G. With starting guards Cole Strange and Mike Onwenu out of practice, Mafi was quickly elevated to take their place and hasn’t looked out of place. He has a legitimate chance to start in Week 1.

Round 6 (No. 187): Kayshon Boutte, WR. Boutte took a slant 42 yards for a catch-and-run TD in the second preseason game, which reflected how he has made notable plays in practice while making a strong charge for a roster spot (and possible No. 5 or 6 role on the depth chart).

Round 6 (No. 192): Bryce Baringer, P. It would be an upset if he’s not the starting punter, as his high-arcing punts of 59 and 61 yards in the second preseason game were a good snapshot of his high-end skill set.

Round 6 (No. 210): Demario Douglas, WR. Nicknamed “Pop,” Douglas has certainly popped in training camp, ensuring that he will not only be on the 53-man roster but could play a notable role as a playmaker.

Round 6 (No. 214): Ameer Speed, CB. His best chance to stick on the roster is as a core special teams player, where he’s shown up regularly. Speed looks like he’s on the roster bubble.

Round 7 (No. 245): Isaiah Bolden, CB. He was making a case for a spot on the roster as a backup cornerback and dynamic kickoff returner before sustaining a concussion in the second preseason game. Bolden looks to be on the roster bubble, most likely landing on the practice squad, assuming good health. — Mike Reiss