Early odds for 49ers' 53-man roster: Lemonier must pick it up

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SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers have conducted just one practice with pads under the direction of Chip Kelly and the new coaching staff.

There are a lot of opinions yet to be formed – and three exhibition games still to be played before the first round of cuts are required.

Here’s a preliminary look at where each player on the 90-man roster stands as the 49ers come back to the practice field on Thursday after their first day off of training camp.

Quarterbacks
Locks: Blaine Gabbert, Colin Kaepernick
50-50: Jeff Driskel
Must impress: Thad Lewis 
Notes: Gabbert and Kaepernick are sharing the first-team reps. Some might think that if Kaepernick does not win the job, his spot on the team could become tenuous. But they must pay him his $11.9 million salary, regardless. Right now, the quarterback competition is too close to call. Driskel, a big and athletic rookie, is making a strong bid for the 49ers to carry a third quarterback on the 53-man roster.

[MAIOCCO: 49ers practice 3: Gabbert, Kaepernick continue equal reps]

Running backs
Locks: Carlos Hyde
Looking good: Shaun Draughn
50-50: Kelvin Taylor, DuJuan Harris
Must impress: Mike Davis, Kendall Gaskins
Notes: There is no proven depth behind Hyde. Draughn has yet to stick with any club for a prolonged period of time. But this could be his chance. He’s an adequate runner, but he makes his mark with his ability to catch passes out of the backfield and willingness to play special teams. Taylor probably has an advantage at one reserve spot because the 49ers want to give him a long look. Davis has to show much more than he did in his first season.

Wide receivers
Locks: Torrey Smith
Looking good: Bruce Ellington, Jerome Simpson, Quinton Patton, DeAndre Smelter
50-50: Aaron Burbridge, Eric Rogers, DeAndrew White, Dres Anderson 
Must impress: Devon Cajuste, DiAndre Campbell, Bryce Treggs.
Notes: This position group is wide open. The 49ers are looking for other receivers to go along with Torrey Smith, who is clearly the top receiver on the team. But Smith is not a traditional No. 1. He has caught more than 50 passes just once in his five-year career. His yards-per-catch is a gaudy 17.3, but the 49ers need possession guys, too, perhaps among Patton, Smelter and Rogers. Simpson has impressed through the offseason and into training camp. If Ellington can stay healthy, he is a good fit for the slot.

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[RELATED: Kelly praises Simpson, WR competition 'really wide open'

Tight ends
Locks: Garrett Celek
Looking good: Vance McDonald, Bruce Miller, Blake Bell
Must impress: Busta Anderson, Je’Ron Hamm
Notes: It will be difficult for anyone to crack into the 49ers’ top four at this position with Celek, McDonald, Miller and Bell all making significant strides in Kelly’s offense. McDonald, coming off a 30-catch, three-TD season, is having the best offseason of his career. Surprisingly, Miller might be the best route-runner of the group as he makes the transition from fullback.

Offensive linemen
Locks: Joe Staley, Daniel Kilgore, Joshua Garnett, Zane Beadles
Looking good: Anthony Davis, Trent Brown, Marcus Martin, Andrew Tiller
50-50: John Theus, Fahn Cooper, Erik Pears, Brandon Thomas
Must impress: Ian Silberman, Alex Balducci, Colin Kelly, Blake Muir, Norman Price
Notes: If Davis remains on track, he stands a strong chance of regaining his old starting job. Brown has looked good, though, while working with the first-team offense. Martin has the advantage of being able to work at center and both guard positions – and those are required skills for a backup along the line. Tiller had an eye-opening stint as the starter last year after taking over for Jordan Devey. He is not going to make it easy on Garnett to win the starting job.

Defensive linemen
Locks: Quinton Dial, Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner
Looking good: Glenn Dorsey
50-50: Tony Jerod-Eddie, Mike Purcell
Must impress: Garrison Smith, Demetrius Cherry, Darren Lake, B.J. McBryde
Notes: Ian Williams’ mysterious season-ending injury sustained in the offseason is a blow to the team. But the 49ers have a lot of depth at this position, too. Dial, Armstead and Buckner could form the nucleus of the 49ers' defensive front for a long time. The 49ers are looking forward to Dorsey returning to action. He is a candidate to start at nose tackle. There could be room for both Jerod-Eddie and Purcell on the team, but a lot depends on how many players the 49ers want to keep at some of the other positions.

[MAIOCCO: LB NaVorro Bowman, 49ers reach four-year extension]

Linebackers
Locks: NaVorro Bowman, Michael Wilhoite, Ahmad Brooks, Eli Harold, Aaron Lynch
Looking good: Ronald Blair, Ray-Ray Armstrong, Gerald Hodges, Tank Carradine
50-50: Nick Bellore, Shayne Skov
Must impress: Corey Lemonier, Marcus Rush, Jason Fanaika, Wynton McManis, Lenny Jones
Notes: Lynch opens the season on the reserve/suspended list due to a violation of the NFL’s policy on substances of abuse. That opens another roster spot for the first four games of the season. Blair has looked good, as the 49ers work him at a few different spots to try to find the best place for his talents. Carradine is still working with the third team at outside linebacker, but he could serve a valuable role as an edge rusher in nickel situations. Lemonier must pick up his game – and his sense of urgency – if he wants to win a roster spot for a fourth season with the team. Bellore is a good special-teams player, but he has also made a lot of plays during practices in the team’s base defense. Spoiler alert: Bowman will make the team this season (and for several more years after this one.) The competition continues between Wilhoite, Armstrong and Hodges for who lines up as a starter next to him.

Cornerbacks
Locks: Tramaine Brock, Jimmie Ward, Will Redmond
Looking good: Rashard Robinson, Keith Reaser
50-50: Kenneth Acker, Dontae Johnson, Chris Davis
Must impress: Prince Charles Iworah, Cleveland Wallace
Notes: Here’s another position where it’s going to take some time to figure out where everybody fits into the picture. The most exciting part of the first three practices has been watching the cornerbacks compete against the group of wideouts – and, by extension, competing against each other. Few passes have resulted in uncontested completions. And when balls are completed, the cornerbacks are going after it to try to strip the receivers. Two rookies, Redmond and Robinson, appear to be close to "locks" for roster spots based on their draft status and potential. Davis has impressed the coaching staff with his play at nickelback. Reaser, Acker and Johnson are right there, but not everyone in this unit can make the 53-man roster. Stop me if you've heard this before: It becomes a numbers game.

Safeties
Locks: Eric Reid, Antoine Bethea, Jaquiski Tartt
50-50: Marcus Cromartie, L.J. McCray
Must impress: Jered Bell
Notes: Now with Ward being moved to cornerback, this position group is a little more straight-forward. Reid, Bethea and Tartt give the 49ers a solid group of three safeties. McCray, coming off an ACL injury, is a hard-hitter whose best chance to secure a roster spot is with standout play on special teams. Cromartie has good versatility, including his ability to move down and cover a big slot receiver.

Specialists
Locks: K Phil Dawson, P Bradley Pinion, LS Kyle Nelson
Must impress: John Lunsford
Notes: Dawson, Pinion and Nelson are back in the roles they had last season. Meanwhile, the strong-legged Lunsford has a chance to open eyes around the league if he can dial in his accuracy from short distances.

Totals
Locks: 26
Looking good: 19
50-50: 20
Must impress: 25

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