How the 49ers’ rookie minicamp showcased their defensive overhaul

Out with the old, and in with the new.

That’s been a central theme of this 49ers’ offseason, and it was especially pronounced Friday, when the team’s rookies went through their first practice right after the 49ers cut edge rusher Drake Jackson.

The 24-year-old Jackson, a second-round draft pick in 2022, was the 49ers’ highest-picked defensive end between Nick Bosa (the No. 2 overall pick in 2019) and Mykel Williams (the No. 11 pick here in 2025). The 49ers waived Jackson with a failed physical designation, which means he hasn’t recovered from a 2023 patellar tendon tear.

If Jackson clears waivers, the 49ers will be free to re-sign him whenever he’s healthy. But cutting Jackson now gives the team an extra 90-man roster spot to bolster offseason competition. And it promptly used that opening, signing veteran offensive tackle Andre Dillard — a 2019 first-round draft pick — on Thursday.

The 49ers also signed 25-year-old offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere and 27-year-old cornerback Dallis Flowers. To make room for those two players, they waived cornerback Tre Tomlinson with an injury designation and waived offensive lineman Jalen McKenzie, the son of former Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie.

It seemed timely that, mere minutes after cutting Jackson, the 49ers’ prized collection of rookie D-linemen — one of which will be tasked with directly taking over his role — made their first walk onto the team’s practice field.

Below is Williams, the first-round pick from Georgia, who promptly plowed over a 49ers staffer during drill work.

Like Williams, the 49ers’ second pick of the draft — former Texas defensive tackle Alfred Collins — is known for his size. At 6-foot-5 and about 330 pounds, Collins was easy for other 49ers rookies to recognize as they assembled for this weekend’s minicamp.

But Collins was quick to point out that he isn’t the only easily identifiable member of the 17-player rookie class. The 49ers also drafted a third lineman, Indiana defensive tackle CJ West, who’s noticeable — but in a stouter way.

“He stands out, too!” Collins said, laughing.

Practice, then, was quite the sight.

It started with Collins, who was merely an observer due to a minor calf issue, watching Williams, West, and undrafted 301-pound tackle Sebastian Valdez go through warmups. There was considerably more size on the D-line portion of the field than at any 49ers’ minicamp in recent memory, and that served as visual confirmation of the team’s massive reinvestment in that position group via the recent draft.

At least some of the 49ers’ spending on the defensive front, of course, was necessary because injuries so severely limited Jackson over his time with the team. The 49ers had picked him at No. 61 overall in 2022 — their first pick in the draft that netted quarterback Brock Purdy with its very last selection — with hopes that he’d develop into reliable bookend for Bosa.

Jackson’s three-sack performance to open the 2023 season at Pittsburgh was certainly a promising step, but he didn’t record another sack before suffering the knee injury that would end his tenure with the 49ers. The team, including its typically optimistic general manager John Lynch, had clearly grown frustrated with Jackson’s problematic recovery earlier in this offseason.

“It’s not been the most encouraging thing,” Lynch said in February. “Hopefully it takes a turn for the positive.”

About two weeks after Lynch made that comment at the NFL Scouting Combine, the 49ers released veteran defensive linemen Maliek Collins and Leonard Floyd. Lynch’s directive was clear: He was looking to thoroughly renovate the defensive line by fostering as much rookie competition as reasonably possible. Cutting Jackson, therefore, serves a similar purpose as releasing Collins and Floyd. The gates are open for full-fledged offseason competition featuring as many healthy D-line bodies as possible.

Alfred Collins seems to have gotten that memo.

“It’s going to take work,” Collins said when asked of his new pairing on the interior with West. “I know I’m going to work, and it looks like he’s going to work. … I’m going to practice my ass off so it translates to the game. That’s what I’m going to have to do to contribute.”

Collins said he models his game after 6-foot-8 lineman Calais Campbell, who’ll be a surefire Hall of Famer once his illustrious playing career is over.

“He’s someone my size — tall, can do it all,” Collins said. “I want my game to be versatile. I like how he attacks his work that’s required for him to be great.”

The 49ers are striving to build a pocket-pushing pass rush around Bosa that roots its power in length. Both Williams and Collins have exceptional arm length of more than 34 inches (Collins’ wingspan is more than 7 feet). That can be used to keep blockers at bay and can be handy in pass defense. Last season, Collins batted down seven passes. (For comparison, cornerback Jahdae Barron — Collins’ Texas teammate who won the Jim Thorpe Award and was drafted in the first round — had eight pass break-ups.)

Shortly after Collins entered the 49ers facility Thursday, he ran into All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner. On Friday, the rookie was still glowing from that interaction.

“I don’t really watch much of the NFL, but this is one of the teams I did watch, especially Nick Bosa, Fred Warner,” Collins said. “So being on the same team, same meeting rooms with them, it’s going to be crazy.”

• The 49ers have officially signed 13 of their 17 rookies. They include quarterback Kurtis Rourke, West’s college teammate at Indiana, who’s recovering from knee surgery. Rourke watched Friday’s minicamp practice from the sideline.

All rookie contracts are preset by the NFL’s rookie wage scale. Rourke’s deal as pick No. 249 in the seventh round, then, is worth $4.3 million over four years. The only guarantee is a $101,668 signing bonus.

• Dillard and Petit-Frere enter the fray at competition for the 49ers’ swing tackle position that’s become much more crowded since the draft. The team signed former Pro Bowl tackle D.J. Humphries last week. Like Dillard, he’s a former first-round draft pick — which checks out, given the 49ers’ stringent physical requirements for the tackle position.

But both Humphries and Dillard have dealt with significant injuries over their careers. That’s why they were available for the 49ers to sign in May. The team is playing a numbers game here, hoping that one of these talented tackles can show enough durability to grab this very important backup role.