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Alfred Collins and CJ West both looked a little tired and a little chastened late Saturday in the 49ers' locker room — but also like they knew they'd definitely earned some real NFL stripes.
You can't really move forward as an NFL defensive tackle until you've felt what it's like to get pushed back a few times by an All-Pro guard.
That's what happened when the 49ers' two highly drafted rookie defensive tackles got their first NFL game action in the 49ers' exhibition opener against the Denver Broncos. Which was not a gimme matchup in any way, shape, or form.
Due to all of the 49ers' injuries and their decision to rest most of their veterans, West started at one defensive tackle spot and Collins joined him in the main rotation swiftly. Meanwhile, the Broncos played their starters in several series, which gave West and Collins plenty of first-half reps against All-Pro right guard Quinn Meinerz and quality left guard Ben Powers.
The result? Neither rookie got much push against either the pass or the run, neither got anywhere close to quarterback Bo Nix, and not surprisingly, neither registered a single defensive statistic.
But jumping to any conclusions from the double shutout in the 49ers' 30-9 loss to Levi's Stadium would be ridiculous — of course Collins and West have a long way to go this early in their NFL careers and of course a night like this (and their much-better performances in Thursday's joint practice) is just part of the process.
They've got NFL talent. It will take time to see all of it. And on Saturday night, it was very clear that they've got the right perspective.
"I'm going into it just playing as hard as I possibly can — and knowing that as a rookie, you're going to get humbled," West said.
"And it was very humbling today kinda going against the starting line on another team. 'Cause there's a lot of other stuff you have to learn and other stuff you have to do still to become better."
Asked about the rookies' outings, Kyle Shanahan said he'd have to look at the film to get a full picture, but he also noted that there wasn't much push being generated from the 49ers' defensive line in those series.
To grind down to the smallest preseason details, undrafted rookie Sebastian Valdez, who had four total tackles, out-performed both Collins and West — though it should be noted that Valdez was going against second- and third-stringers in the second half.
Those three, without much doubt, are the future of the 49ers' interior defensive line. They might be the present very, very soon.
"That was great to kind of get a little taste of it," West said. "I know there's much more coming, there's much more I've gotta learn, much more I've gotta do to get better as a player.
"But I'd say it was a good first time out there."
Collins and West weren't drafted just to rush the passer; starting with their first-round drafting of defensive end Mykel Williams (out with a hyperextended knee), the 49ers wanted to fill their defensive front with athletic, versatile, and savvy young players who can take on blockers, make plays here and there, and supplement Nick Bosa. To do that, Collins and West will have to play better than they did on Saturday.
Easy pronouncement: West and Collins will be much better than this, starting probably with this week's joint practice with the Raiders in Nevada and the game there on Saturday.
"We're going to keep going, man," Collins said. "It's only up from here."
They're an interesting duo — the 6-foot-5 Collins is gangly, quiet, and towers over almost everybody; West is shorter, bulkier, more ferocious in drills, and much more gregarious off the field.
"Yeah, I've got a big personality," West said. "I try to bring it out of him just a little bit if I can. But that's my guy, man."
How did Collins think it went out there?
"Main job was just to go out there, give as much effort as I can," Collins said. "We're going to go over this film, see what I've got to do better.
"Didn't have a perfect game. Got another week to practice and fix mistakes."
West has been impossible to miss during the first few weeks of camp — eating up blockers in one-on-one drills and moving offensive linemen backwards regularly in team drills. That continued through Thursday's joint practice, when he and Collins got some first-team reps.
None of that happened very much on Saturday. So what happened?
"At this level, the offensive linemen are smarter, they're faster, they know different ways to cheat the game just a little bit to kinda give themselves the advantage," West said with a smile.
Collins' camp has been quieter after he missed all of the offseason program and the first few days of camp with a calf injury. But Collins had his most explosive practice of camp on Thursday and on Saturday said he feels good.
"He's huge," West said of Collins. "He's a giant person."
Their first preseason game is history now. It wasn't glorious. West and Collins are just on Step 1, with dozens, hundreds, or maybe thousands of steps left to go. They're the future. And that's exactly what they want.