San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy will get the starting nod against the Los Angeles Chargers going into their NFL preseason Week 2 matchup.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said after the 49ers’ practice on Tuesday, Aug. 18 that some starters would play, but didn’t expect them all to play.
“Not all of them, but I expect a number of starters to play, unlike last week,” Shanahan told reporters. “I haven’t told them yet, but they’ll find out soon, but yeah, you guys will see a number out there.”
Of those guys getting some burn, some of the key players to watch for are rookies De’Zhaun Stribling and Kaelon Black. Both 2026 NFL Draft selections have been making their marks on the team and moving up the depth chart. Both are expected to see snaps in the preseason, and likely the regular season, too.
Here’s the Niners’ current depth chart through Week 2 of the NFL preseason:
San Francisco 49ers projected 2026 depth chart
Here’s a look at the San Francisco 49ers’ unofficial depth chart for the 2026 season. Projected starters’ names are listed in bold, non-starters will have their respective string. *= 2026 draft class
Offense:
Quarterbacks
- Brock Purdy
- Mac Jones (2nd)
- Kurtis Rourke (3rd)
- Adrian Martinez (4th)
Running backs
- Christian McCaffrey
- Jordan James (2nd); Kaelon Black* (2nd)
- Patrick Taylor Jr. (3rd); Sincere McCormick (3rd)
- Khalil Herbert (4th); Zamir White (4th)
Wide receivers
- Mike Evans
- Demarcus Robinson
- Deebo Samuel Sr.
- Christian Kirk (2nd); De’Zhaun Stribling* (2nd)
- Jacob Cowing (2nd); Jordan Watkins (2nd)
- Malik Turner (3rd); Will Pauling* (3rd); Trenton Irwin (3rd)
- Wesley Grimes* (4th); KhaDarel Hodge (4th)
Tight ends
- Jake Tonges
- Luke Farrell (2nd); Brayden Willis (2nd)
- Hayden Rucci (3rd)
- Josiah Deguara (4th)
Fullbacks
- Kyle Juszczyk
Offensive linemen
- Trent Williams (LT)
- Vederian Lowe (2nd)
- Enrique Cruz Jr.* (3rd)
- Robert Jones (LG)
- Carver Willis* (2nd)
- Kion Smith (3rd)
- Jake Brendel (C)
- Drake Nugent (2nd)
- Brett Toth (3rd)
- Doug Kramer Jr. (4th)
- Dominick Puni (RG)
- Connor Colby (2nd)
- Colton McKivitz (RT)
- Austen Pleasants (2nd)
- Brandon Parker (3rd)
- Isaac Alarcon (4th)
Defense:
Defensive edge
- Keion White (left)
- Sam Okuayinonu (2nd)
- Titus Leo (3rd)
- Xavier Thomas (4th)
- Nick Bosa (right)
- Romello Height* (2nd)
- Quinton Bell (3rd)
- Ogbo Okoronkwo (4th)
Defensive tackle
- Alfred Collins(right)
- Sebastian Valdez (2nd)
- Gracen Halton* (3rd)
- James Thompson Jr.* (4th)
- Osa Odighizuwa(left)
- C.J. West (2nd)
- Bryson Eason* (3rd)
Linebackers
- SAM (strong-side linebacker): Luke Gifford
- Jaden Dugger* (2nd)
- Jalen Graham (3rd)
- MIKE (middle linebacker): Fred Warner
- Tatum Bethune (2nd)
- WILL (weak-side linebacker): Dre Greenlaw
- Nick Martin (2nd)
- Garret Wallow (3rd)
- Larry Worth III* (4th)
Defensive backs
- Deommodore Lenoir (right)
- Darrell Luter Jr. (2nd)
- Ephesians Prysock* (3rd)
- Renardo Green (left)
- Jack Jones (2nd)
- Jakob Robinson (3rd)
- Eli Apple (4th)
- Upton Stout(nickel)
- Nate Hobbs (2nd)
- Ji’Ayir Brown (FS)
- Siran Neal (2nd)
- Jalen Stroman* (3rd)
- Malik Mustapha (SS)
- Marques Sigle (2nd)
- Ashtyn Davis (3rd)
- Patrick McMorris (4th)
Special Teams
- Eddy Pineiro (K)
- Corliss Waitman (Punter, holder)
- Jacob Cowing (PR)
- Jordan Watkins (2nd)
- Deebo Samuel Sr. (KR)
- Jacob Cowing (2nd)
- Patrick Taylor Jr. (3rd)
- Jon Weeks (LS)
Active/PUP List
- Isaac Guerendo, running back
- George Kittle, tight end
- Mykel Williams, defensive line
Injured Reserved List
- Ricky Pearsall, wide receiver
- Andrew Farmer II,defensive line
- Darrick Forrest, safety
- Mikail Kamara*,defensive line
- K.J. Henry,defensive line
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: San Francisco 49ers roster projections through Week 2 of NFL preseason
