NFC West Notes: 49ers, Cardinals, Seahawks

49ers

49ers HC Kyle Shanahan believes DT D.J. Jones‘ stamina is improving and praised his abilities as an interior defender. 

“I think his stamina is getting better,” Shanahan said, via Matt Barrows of The Athletic. “He holds the A-gap all day. I think it helps that we’re penetrating a lot more. … He’s a stout dude, is always going to be good versus the run and when he has the quickness and he’s not tired, he can beat any center or guard.”

Jones said he is training on some local hills during social distancing requirements.

“It’s called Zion Hill,” Jones said. “And the name is perfect. It’s got a lot of steep hills around it. I’ve been running those the past month and I’ve been just grinding. I’ve never been so ready to play football in my life. I’m ready to go.”

• Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that WR Jalen Hurd could possibly be moved to tight end in 2020.
• According to his sources, GM John Lynch and HC Kyle Shanahan said they could envision moving Hurd to tight end when they drafted him.

Cardinals

Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury said he is excited to use Kenyan Drake and Chase Edmunds as his two running backs next season. 

“We’re really excited about those two guys, Kenyan and Chase,” head coach Kliff Kingsbury said, via Mason Kern of Sports Illustrated. “When Chase had his opportunity he was phenomenal and we all saw what Kenyan did. So two explosive backs, played at a very high level and had their opportunity, but that third spot we’ll see.”

Kingsbury also indicated that he would like to incorporate a third running back in his system and believes RB D.J. Foster has a “good skill set.”

“D.J. was banged up last year,” Kingsbury said. “We think he has a good skill set. But that’s an area that we’d like to have three. You saw we got to (using) a third (running back in 2019). We’d like to have three that we feel like we could roll through and not lose much.”

Kingsbury expects Drake to continue improving in his first full season with the Cardinals. 

“I think he’s going to have a higher level of competence, no doubt,” Kingsbury said. “Just understanding the system; understanding how we coach; what’s expected of him. He did a lot of that on the fly. You see the explosiveness, you see what he can do in space and we have to continue to do a great job of putting him in a situation to be successful. I just think his overall knowledge of the system, comfort level in the system and even living conditions and all those things that help you be a better pro — he should be a lot more comfortable.”

Seahawks

• Brady Henderson of ESPN believes the Seahawks are hoping the addition of CB Quinton Dunbar results in more interceptions from Seattle’s cornerbacks, who have combined for just six interceptions over the past two seasons.
• According to Henderson, the Seahawks signed DE Benson Mayowa to a one-year, $3.05M contract that includes a $1.5M signing bonus and $1.05M base salary (fully guaranteed) to go along with $500K in total per-game 46-man roster bonuses.