It's rare that NFL undrafted free agents make an impact during their rookie seasons, but two UDFAs who signed with the San Francisco 49ers may find themselves in a position to push for a starting job in Year 1.
Among the 49ers' UDFA additions were two players at positions the club didn't address with any of its eight NFL draft picks. They added punter Jack Bouwmeester from Texas and safety Jalen Stroman from Notre Dame, both of whom could be in a unique place among their fellow undrafted rookies in San Francisco.
Bouwmeester, a 26-year-old former Aussie rules football player, will be in a battle with veteran left-footed punter Corliss Waitman. The 49ers signed Waitman this offseason to a one-year contract worth up to $1.29 million with $475,000 guaranteed. That guarantee isn't enough to cement Waitman's place on the roster. He'll have to earn it in what's shaping up to be the 49ers' second special teams position battle in as many offseasons.
Stroman has a little steeper uphill climb than Bouwmeester, but his position group is still in enough flux that a strong training camp showing would be enough to at least put him in the mix to snag a starting job.
The 49ers have starting safeties Ji'Ayir Brown and Malik Mustapha returning, along with second-year safety Marques Sigle who started seven of the 15 games he played as a rookie last season. Sigle's benching after Week 7 put a significant question mark over him going into Year 2 despite the fact he started the team's first seven games in his first season.
One of the keys for Stroman will be showing enough versatility to operate in the back end of an NFL secondary. He doesn't have a ton of athleticism which may limit how much he can play deep coverage. If he's going to be limited to playing in the box, it puts him at a disadvantage in a safety room that may wind up churning out a new starting duo in 2026. Nevertheless, there should be a position battle at safety and Stroman has a better chance than most of his fellow UDFAs to wind up winning a spot atop the depth chart.
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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers depth chart: 2 UDFAs could earn starting jobs as rookies