The San Francisco 49ers offense displayed its speed and downfield capabilities on day two of the team’s minicamp.

Tight end Vernon Davis and wide receiver Torrey Smith hauled in multiple deep balls from the arm of quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Undrafted rookie wideouts Dres Anderson and DeAndrew White got in on the action as well.

Established rugby champion but NFL newcomer Jarryd Hayne also showed off his pass-catching abilities while the first and second-string offensive lines stayed the same as day one.


Alex Boone filled in at left guard with the latter group, as head coach Jim Tomsula “wants to build depth at guard, which is why Boone is getting practice on the left side after starting on the right for the last three years,” per The Sacramento Bee’s Matt Barrows.

Despite Aldon Smith again nursing an injured right toe, the Niners defense had its moments too.

And with that, let’s move to the 49ers’ defensive—and special teams—highlights on day two.

 

Defense

While not necessarily lacking in speed, depth was the name of the game Wednesday for the San Francisco defense.

That includes personnel in the trenches, at linebacker and in the secondary.

The front line featured the likes of Glenn Dorsey, Quinton Dial, Ian Williams, Tank Carradine and Tony Jerrod-Eddie, among others. Third-year man Corey Lemonier and rookie Eli Harold, for their part, held court at outside linebacker with Smith out, while the list of capable defensive backs numbered in double digits.

And though the pecking order is far from solidified at cornerback with Tramaine Brock and Shareece Wright often on the sideline due to nagging muscle strains, Barrows acknowledged the positive intrigue:

The 49ers have good depth at cornerback in that they have a lot of bodies at the position. On Tuesday, the first-string cornerbacks were Dontae Johnson and Marcus Cromartie. On Wednesday, they were Johnson and Chris Cook. [Kenneth] Acker and Keith Reaser also have been getting a lot of repetitions. How it all sorts itself out in training camp and the preseason ought to be interesting.

Brock participating in some of the team drills Wednesday certainly added to the fluid nature of the position.

The same goes for Cook executing “nice coverage to prevent a back-shoulder catch by (Torrey) Smith on a Kaepernick pass,” Leon McFadden capably manning the slot and versatile rookie Jaquiski Tartt tallying an interception, per Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News.

Tartt, in particular, is a special hybrid who will push nickel back Jimmie Ward and strong safety Antoine Bethea. His utility as a tight-end-neutralizer and extra-personnel cover man make him especially valuable.

But as for Smith, Tomsula revealed (as paraphrased by Inman) that “he originally hurt his toe early in the offseason program, again by someone stepping on it.” The head coach also said that Smith would have played if it were an in-season game scenario, according to Barrows.

 

Special Teams

Second spoiler alert: For those special teams enthusiasts, there just wasn’t a whole lot going on Wednesday on that side of the ball.

That said, the 49ers at least gave an ample number of players a shot at returning kicks. The day-two group included running backs Hayne, Reggie Bush and Kendall Hunter, corner Marcus Cromartie and rookie receivers White and Anderson.

Among the diverse bunch, Bush and Hunter were the lone two with regular-season experience. The former owns four punt return touchdowns to his name while the latter has a career average of 23.6 yards on kickoff returns.

And for the new guy doing the punting, and potentially kickoffs, Tomsula feels confident.

“We have faith in (Bradley) Pinion. He’s doing a nice job right now,” Tomsula said about general manager Trent Baalke’s surprising fifth-round draft pick, via Nate Stuhlbarg of CSNBayArea.com.

Oh, and a quick note from Mr. Barrows regarding the condition of the home field on which Pinion and Phil Dawson will kick from this season:

“A very light rain fell during the first half of practice,” said Barrows. “The Levi’s Stadium grass held up well for a second day and there were no obvious injuries. Footing also [seemed] to hold up well.”

Cheers.

Click here for the 49ers’ offensive highlights on day three.