We're still several weeks away from the San Francisco 49ers deciding who will be on their initial 53-man roster and their practice squad for the 2024 season.
But teams in the United Football League are betting that four members of San Francisco's rookie class won't be on either.
The UFL held its draft on Wednesday, with a quartet of players signed by the 49ers as undrafted free agents being selected.
Top of the list was running back Cody Schrader, who was taken in the second round by the St. Louis Battlehawks. Defensive tackle Evan Anderson was then picked by the Memphis Showboats in the third round.
Six rounds later, quarterback Tanner Mordecai was selected by the D.C. Defenders and the Arlington Renegades picked center Briason Mays.
The UFL obviously plays its football in the spring, so there is theoretically plenty of time for each of these players to try to find a home in the NFL during the 2024 season, if they aren't able to stick with the Niners, and then turn their attention to the UFL if they fail.
But should any of them spend the season on a roster or a practice squad, then there will be a low likelihood of them being motivated to then play spring ball.
And you only need to look at the money guaranteed to two of the 49ers players drafted by the UFL to see there is a strong chance of them being kept around for 2024.
Schrader, who led the SEC in rushing in his final season at Missouri, signed a deal with $220,000 guaranteed in 2024. Anderson is guaranteed $250,000 this year, with the 49ers viewing him as a player who could fill the run-stuffing void left by D.J. Jones after the 2021 season.
Defensive line coach Kris Kocurek said of Anderson:
"Watching tape of him in college, every time I plugged on the tape of he just reminded me of a guy we had in the past, D.J. Jones. Strong with explosive traits in his lower body to be able to explode out of his stance, recreate the line of scrimmage, knock back guards, some of the things that D.J. Jones did for us down there playing the 2i from 2019 through 2021 and just the effect that D.J. had on teams in the run game. I saw a lot of the same qualities in Evan, really quick feet, he can change directions really fast, has a really thick, explosive lower body, has natural leverage built into his body, another young guy that we're really excited just to see him come in here every single day and work as hard as he can and stack one day on top of the next and get a little bit better every single day and see where it ends up here come February."
Both at least have a chance of making the 53. If they are not successful in doing so, the 49ers will almost certainly try to sneak them onto the practice squad. That may be tough to do, with Schrader a clear candidate to be snapped up by another team if released given his collegiate pedigree.
Mays was guaranteed only $10,000 and is a much longer shot to be on the 49ers in some capacity this season, but quarterback Mordecai can afford to have some hope of a practice squad berth
Guaranteed 100,000 this year by the 49ers, Mordecai has the athleticism and arm strength to be a compelling emergency quarterback option whose movement skills could also aid San Francisco through having him use them to mimic more mobile quarterbacks as part of the scout team.
It's understandable for the UFL to target these young 49ers with how difficult it is to crack the Niners' loaded roster. Still, the bet the Battlehawks and Showboats made in backing Schrader and Anderson to be available to play in their league looks ambitious at best.
