The San Francisco 49ers will be one of several teams set to open OTAs next week as they prepare for the upcoming NFL season.
OTAs are very important for the 49ers coaches as they will evaluate everyone on the roster from the first player to the 90th player. This is a golden opportunity for some fringe players to put themselves on head coach Kyle Shanahan’s radar in hopes of making the roster.
Meanwhile, other 49ers players like Kalia Davis are trying to find a way to stick on the 53-man roster for another season.
Davis has a tougher path to make San Francisco’s 53-man roster after the 49ers addressed the defensive tackle position in the 2025 NFL Draft last month. The 49ers took Alfred Collins in the second round, then CJ West two rounds later (fourth).
San Francisco hopes Collins and West are instant contributors this season, along with vets Kevin Givens and Jordan Elliott. If that’s the case, it leaves Davis in an interesting position on the 49ers’ depth chart.
The 26-year-old is likely considered a third-string defensive tackle heading into OTAs. Davis saw a considerable amount of time last season because of how banged up the 49ers’ d-line was.
The former 2022 sixth-round pick recorded 12 combined tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception in 13 games. He missed the first part of the 2024 season due to a knee injury, which had him on injured reserve.
Even though Davis did not put up eye-popping numbers last season, the 49ers coaches were likely excited to see him on the field as he had an IR stint in 2023 (only played three games) and didn’t play his rookie season because of a knee injury.
According to PFF, the 6-foot-2, 310-pound defensive lineman had a 53.8 pass rush grade (174th among 219 defensive linemen) and a 42.5 run defense grade (170th) in 2024.
In a nutshell, Davis must be better in OTAs, mandatory minicamp, training camp, and preseason to make the roster. He’s not guaranteed a spot with the two new rookie additions in Collins and West.
And Davis is also competing with undrafted free agent rookie Sebastian Valdez, who racked up 48 combined tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks, and a pass deflection at Washington State last year.