Kawakami: Mykel Williams, Ricky Pearsall, and a 49ers camp with early momentum

Want the latest Bay Area sports news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here to receive regular email newsletters, including “The Dime.”

There was Ricky Pearsall suited up for a second consecutive day and appearing quite sprightly as he raced through the middle of the secondary a few times in the 49ers’ first padded practice of the year. There was Mykel Williams looking and being respected like a seasoned vet already. There was fellow rookie CJ West blasting into all offensive linemen who lined up in front of him.

And there was Brock Purdy slinging the ball deep down field every time a receiver was even close to open — certainly not all for completions, but every one of them affirming Purdy’s high level of confidence.

Yep, the 49ers’ coaches and executives saw pretty much everything they wanted and needed to see Monday. Afterward, defensive coordinator Robert Saleh joked that the first pads day, after all the anticipation, is always the most disappointing practice of the year, but that’s easier to laugh about when you know you just had a good one.

Really, it was impossible to miss during this crackling, 105-minute session. And it’s already a huge step up from last year, when the 49ers began camp with contractual headaches and suffering from the start of a massive injury wave that eventually forced the cancellation of joint practices with the New Orleans Saints.

Now, of course, the logical caveats: Monday’s session was just one practice many weeks from the start of the regular season; the 49ers have the usual set of early-camp bumps (among those sitting out Monday were Jauan Jennings, Renardo Green, Ben Bartch, and Jacob Cowing) and will have a longer wait for Brandon Aiyuk and Malik Mustapha, who were seriously hurt last season, so you never know how healthy the roster will be in a few weeks, let alone a few months.

But things got lively Monday, and nothing seem to break apart. The great players looked great, the young players looked promising. And it’s extremely unlikely that things will get so dire that Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch have to pull out of their scheduled joint practice with the Denver Broncos next week.

Maybe most significantly, as the 49ers try to move themselves into a new era of contention with a new set of potential stars, their prized rookie defensive linemen have not disappointed so far.

Williams immediately has been granted the starting defensive end spot opposite Nick Bosa, the first time in several years that a 49ers rookie has earned a Day 1 first-team nod. Saleh smiled when I asked if this decision even merited a discussion among the coaches.

“Even if it was a discussion, it doesn’t take long,” Saleh said. “Just look at him, right? He’s very powerful. He’s got great hands. He’s got great leverage. He has great flexibility to go inside and out. He’s unique in that regard, which we knew and which is why we were so excited to go get him.”

At least for now, Williams is not a classic edge rusher like Bosa. In fact, Williams looks most comfortable rushing from inside — where he’ll likely be most passing downs, with Bryce Huff getting the edge spot and Williams using his 6-foot-5 frame to harry the throwing lanes. But Williams’ versatility, as Saleh noted, is already valuable, and he presumably will only get better as an outside pass rusher as he gains experience.

Second-round draft pick Alfred Collins also had his moments Monday, but missing all of the offseason program with a calf injury seems to have slowed his progress a bit. That’s not as big a deal for the 49ers right now, because West looked truly ferocious in his one-on-one drills Monday. West, who is listed at 6-2 but looks much shorter because he’s often standing next to Collins and Williams, blasted off the ball and wavered several offensive linemen in his reps, including stalwart right guard Dominick Puni.

“I mean, he’s like a little fire hydrant, right?” Saleh said of West. “But he’s powerful. He’s got heavy hands.”

If the 49ers get to September knowing that Williams (first-round pick), Collins (second round), and West (fourth round) are set for dependable, explosive seasons, this camp will, in some major ways, have been a success just for that. They’ll have to stay healthy and continue to figure out how to be NFL mainstays; they all have a long way to go before Week 1 in Seattle. But so far, it’s happening.

Next up on the most significant list this camp: Pearsall, last year’s No. 1 pick, who started camp on the PUP list with a lingering hamstring issue but returned to practice Sunday, just as Jennings was sidelined with his leg issue.

Did Pearsall keep that going through Monday? Definitely. And with Aiyuk, Jennings, and Cowing out, the 49ers sure needed it. I imagine Purdy needed it more than anybody — and found Pearsall on several deep crossing routes Monday.

If Demarcus Robinson, as expected, is suspended to start the season, Pearsall would be behind only Jennings in WR expectation and experience — until Aiyuk is back. If Pearsall can stay on the field, he has the talent to keep making plays. But until he does both, he’s just a concept right now, a projection of what the 49ers hope they can be.

“He’s going to be a guy that we’re going to count on,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said Monday of Pearsall.

It was good, at least from the media point of view, to hear Saleh give more detailed and impassioned answers Monday than he did in his first 49ers stint as defensive coordinator. Several people who know Saleh well always tell me that he’s an incredibly thoughtful and interesting guy away from the microphone. I’ve heard many stories about his great debates with Shanahan over the years.

But other than Mike McDaniel in his one colorful season with the 49ers’ offensive coordinator title, Shanahan assistants tend to keep things as bland as possible at the podium, likely for fear of saying something the head coach really doesn’t want them to say.

So I don’t expect Saleh to suddenly elocute about literature and music or crack jokes like McDaniel, who had extra liberty as Shanahan’s closest, zaniest, longest-tenured aide. But Saleh held multiple pressers a week in front of the New York media for three-plus seasons as Jets coach. He’s more than established in the NFL. He’ll be a head coach again if things break right for him and the 49ers over the next few years. It’s time for Saleh to be a little looser at his weekly pressers, and I believe that’s happening, too.