The depth that the team has, or rather the competition across the roster is encouraging news for the 49ers are looking to improve upon their first round playoff exit last season. A big problem the team faced late last season is not having the depth to replace some of its injured players that should be different this season.

In part one of this series I’ll take a look at an interesting situation developing at running back.

In the 49ers backfield two things are certain: 1) Garrison Hearst is the primary running back, 2) Fred Beasley is the primary full back. From there on in, there’s a lot up in the air. I’ll start with Kevan Barlow, the standout rookie looks like he’ll have a very bright future with the team. So what’s the debate here? Really it’s whether he will be able to win the starting job from Hearst by the end of the season. While it’s not likely he’ll be able to win the job in training camp, he does have an outside shot at winning the role by the end of the season, especially with his reported great off-season.

How the roles of Paul Smith, Terry Jackson and Jonas Lewis play out will also be interesting. Technically Terry Jackson hasn’t re-signed with the team yet, but that likely won’t be too big an issue. Smith has bulked up this off-season and looks to be making a play for backup full back. Jackson on the other hand has always been best suited for the ‘third down back role’. Meanwhile Jonas Lewis has looked very sharp this off-season too. He was in the running to win the starting back role last season before he got injured and Hearst proved to be healthy. Lewis may also have an opportunity to return kicks.