Big day for Deebo Samuel; Observations from day 17 of 49ers training camp

Here is what stood out from the San Francisco 49ers 17^th day of training camp.

Brock Purdy

It was a solid day for Purdy who completed 16 of 20 passes with one interception.

Purdy opened practice with a pair of short throws before missing Brandon Aiyuk on a deep throw down the right sideline, that pass well underthrown and out of bounds. He bounced back with a completion to Ronnie Bell on a swing pass out to the left before hitting Deebo Samuel on a ten yard out along the left sideline and Tay Martin on a vertical route up the left seam.

On Purdy’s next set of downs, a screen to Christian McCaffrey was sandwiched between a pair of completions on curls to the right, one to Deebo Samuel and one to Brandon Aiyuk.

Following the special teams break came work on second and 15 situations.

Purdy’s first set of downs opened with a miss to Brandon Aiyuk who was running a deep slant, the ball sailing over the receiver’s head and off the hands of Talanoa Hufanga. Javon Hargrave got to Purdy on the next play to end the possession.

The quarterback’s second opportunity went much worse when his screen pass to McCaffrey was tipped and then intercepted by Drake Jackson who took it the other way.

After the Jackson interception, Purdy hit eight in a row to finish practice.

Given one more chance and the second and 15 situation, Purdy finally got it done. He opened with a 13-yard completion to Samuel on a deep in route to the right side. On third and two Purdy went back to Samuel with a short throw on an underneath route to pick up the first down.

The starting offense finished their day with a pair of move the ball possessions from their own 35.

Facing second and eight Purdy hit McCaffrey with a checkdown for six followed by a 15-yard completion to Samuel on the next play. Two plays later Purdy found Samuel with a seam shot for a big gain.

Purdy and Samuel connected on another big play early in the next series on a deep over route off play action for a gain of 23. A pair of completions to Jauan Jennings, a gain of six on a curl to the right and six on a curl to the left ended the day for Purdy.

Trey Lance

Lance was first up with the second unit on Monday.

His first throw came off play action with a boot to his right, pressure forced him to stop and he checked down to Chris Conley who caught the pass at the line of scrimmage and was tackled immediately.

Next for Lance came three snaps during a passing period. On the first play, Lance ripped a completion to rookie Isaiah Winstead who was running a deep slant to the right side. After completing a screen to Conley, Lance tried to hit Tay Martin on an out along the right sideline, however the pass was slightly behind the receiver which allowed Tre Swilling to knock the ball away.

Lance finished his day working the second and 15 situation. The quarterback opened with a completion for nine yards on a slant to Ronnie Bell. His throw on third and six hit Willie Snead who was running an out to the left side, but the receiver could not hold on. Now facing fourth and six, Lance’s throw to Bell was off the mark to end the possession.

Lance finished practice 4-7.

Sam Darnold

Darnold opened his throws with an incompletion after Brayden Willis was unable to hang on to a pass in the left flat. On the play, Darnold was rolling to his left off play action and chose the short throw even though the second level receiver was open. This still would have been a positive play had Willis hung on.

Next for Darnold was three snaps during a passing period. Darnold’s first play was impressive as the veteran ripped a throw to Elijah Mitchell up the right seam for a big gain. On the next play, Darnold launched a deep post to Tay Martin for another explosive play. Darnold was “sacked” on the final snap, but the play continued, and he hit Ronnie Bell who was working his way back to the scrambling quarterback along the left sideline.

Darnold finished his day executing a move the ball possession with the second unit. He rolled to his left after play action and hit Tay Martin in the left flat, the receiver taking the ball up the sideline for a gain of 15 yards. The two connected again two plays later on a similar play, but the defense was ready for it this time and stopped Martin after a pickup of six.

On the day, Darnold completed six of eight passes.

Deebo Samuel

Monday was Samuel’s most productive day of camp. The receiver caught all seven passes that came his way, including a pair of downfield throws from Purdy. Getting the ball to Samuel, a terrific runner after the catch, away from the line of scrimmage will help maximize the vast potential he displayed in 2021.

Elijah Mitchell

Mitchell returned to practice after an extended absence due to injury and looked explosive. The back was quick in and out of his cuts and split the defense for a big gain as a receiver. His reception down the middle of the field was reminiscent of a play made by Christian McCaffrey earlier in camp.

Tay Martin

With injuries likely to keep Ray-Ray McCloud and Danny Gray on the sideline to begin the season, Martin has an opening to make the 53-man roster.

His performance on Monday was a good start. The second year receiver known as “Big Play Tay” at Oklahoma State caught four of five targets, including a deep post from Sam Darnold and a throw up the left seam from Brock Purdy.

Tashaun Gipson

The veteran safety opened the day with a tackle for loss on a screen to Elijah Mitchell.

Fred Warner

The All-Pro linebacker continues to fly around the field. He chased down Deebo Samuel on a sweep to the left side. A few plays later he dropped Christian McCaffrey for no gain on a sweep around the right side.

Arik Armstead     

Armstead dropped Christian McCaffrey at the line of scrimmage twice on runs up the middle.

Khalia Davis

Davis returned from injury and looked good. Davis dropped Ty Davis-Price with a crushing hit on a run up the middle which drew praise from his teammates.

Javon Hargrave

Hargrave broke through the offensive line to record a sack on Brock Purdy.

Drake Jackson

Jackson returned to the practice field for the first time since before the team left for Las Vegas two weeks ago. The second year defensive end showed off his athleticism when he leapt to bat a screen pass from Brock Purdy and took it the other way for a touchdown.