The NFL season is right around the corner.  That means that very soon teams will be purging their roster of camp bodies as they must cut to 53 players instead of 80.  Teams will have a lot of tough decisions, will X player clear waivers so we can put him on the practice squad?  Do we carry two QB’s or three?  Can we keep seven WR’s who we all like and sacrifice depth at another position?

The 49ers are going to have some very tough choices to make.  Let’s break it down.

Guaranteed To Make The Roster:

QB: Hill, Smith (2)

RB/FB: Gore, Coffee, Robinson, Norris (4)

WR: Bruce, Jones, Morgan, Crabtree (4)

TE: Davis, Walker (2)

LT: Staley, Sims (2)

LG: Baas (1)

C: Heitman, Wallace (2)

RG: Richal, Wragge (2)

RT: Synder (1)

LE: Soapoga, Balmer, Evans (3)

RE: Smith, McDonald (2)

DT: Franklin (1)

LOLB: Lawson (1)

MLB: Willis, Spikes, McKilliop, Ulbrich (4)

ROLB: Haralson (1)

CB: Clements, Bly, Brown, Spencer (4)

FS: Goldston, Roman (2)

SS: Lewis, Smith (2)

K: Nedney (1)

P: Lee (1)

LS: Jennings (1)

By my crude math that’s 43 guarantees to make the roster.  Leaving 10 spots.

Position Battles (Prediction in bold):

QB: Huard, Davis – (1) – Odds are one of the two make the team.  The 49ers can’t afford to carry four QB’s and Davis has been so strong in pre-season that he would likely be snatched up on waivers.

RB/FB: Sheets, Miller – (1) – Again odds are one of the two makes it.  Sheets, an undrafted free agent, much like Davis has been so good in pre-season it’d be hard to slip him through waivers.  Miller has also been fantastic.  A linebacker turned FB his progress has been amazing.

WR: Battle, Ziegler, Spurlock, Hill -(2) – With four locks (Bruce, Jones, Morgan, Crbatree) and four guys who deserve to make the team this is by far the deepest position.  It’d be extremely difficult, and unlikely that the 49ers keep seven WR’s.  My guess is they go with six and boot the low man on the totem pole when Crabtree eventually signs.  Battle is the veteran, Ziegler has the best hands, Spurlock is the most versatile and despite Hills strong play last year he seems to be the odd man out.

TE: Pascoe, JJ Finley – (1) – JJ Finley has had a very strong camp, Pascoe not so much.  The book on Pascoe was that he was a very strong blocker but it hasn’t shown.  Finley played as the 3rd TE in the third preseason game and Pascoe barely played.  The writing seems to be on the wall.

OL:  Jacob Bender, Alex Boone, Matt Spanos – (1) – Every year the 49ers seem to be shallow along the offensive line and this year is no exception.  Marvel Smiths sudden retirement kicks Barry Sims from the maybe to the definite list.  It also increases the chances of Boone making the team as a developmental right tackle.  It wouldn’t surprise me to see the Niners trade for a veteran.  For a team that needs depth at QB a Huard for an O-Lineman trade would make sense.

DL: Egboh, Mitchell, Jean-Francois – (0) – Nothing super exciting here.  Jean-Francois is a developmental guy but is likely bound for the practice squad.

LB:  Harris, Moore, Washington, Briggs, Brooks, Roland – (2) -  Harris is a veteran, every else is developmental.  Jay Moore just never could seem to get his career started due to injuries.  49ers need a pass rush and have to hope a few of these guys can show something.

DB: Eric Green, Curtis Taylor, Marcus Hudson – (1)  -  Green was a late addition but offers the most upside.  Taylor is raw and probably bound for the practice squad.

KR: Allen Rossum – (1) – Pretty self explanatory

Wow that was tough.  So my final 10 players are: Davis, Sheets, Battle, Spurlock, Finley, Boone, Harris, Brooks, Green and Rossum.  In case you were curious my 54th man was Matt Spanos.