It is interesting looking at the number of players and who was kept at each position in 2016, as compared to 2015.
The San Francisco 49ers settled on their preliminary 53-man roster Saturday afternoon. I say preliminary because there is the chance they make waiver claims on Sunday. For now though, I thought I would put together a quick rundown of the roster compared to last year. It is broken down position-by-position. I have included the number of players in parenthesis for easy comparison.
Quarterbacks
2016 (3): Blaine Gabbert, Colin Kaepernick, Christian Ponder
2015 (2): Colin Kaepernick, Blaine Gabbert
2016 (3): Carlos Hyde, Shaun Draughn, Mike Davis
2015 (5): Carlos Hyde, Reggie Bush, Mike Davis, Jarryd Hayne, Bruce Miller
2016 (5): Torrey Smith, Quinton Patton, Jeremy Kerley, Aaron Burbridge, Rod Streater
2015 (5): Anquan Boldin, Torrey Smith, Quinton Patton, Bruce Ellington, DeAndrew White
2016 (4): Vance McDonald, Garrett Celek, Blake Bell, Bruce Miller
2015 (4): Vernon Davis, Vance McDonald, Garrett Celek, Blake Bell
2016 (9): Joe Staley, Zane Beadles, Daniel Kilgore, Anthony Davis, Trent Brown, Joshua Garnett, John Theus, Andrew Tiller, Marcus Martin
2015 (9): Joe Staley, Alex Boone, Marcus Martin, Jordan Devey, Ian Silberman, Nick Easton, Brandon Thomas, Erik Pears, Trent Brown
2016 (7): Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner, Quinton Dial, Glenn Dorsey, Mike Purcell, Ronald Blair, Tony Jerod-Eddie
2015 (7): Glenn Dorsey, Ian Williams, Quinton Dial, Tank Carradine, Mike Purcell, Tony Jerod-Eddie, Arik Armstead
2016 (3): Ahmad Brooks, Eli Harold, Tank Carradine
2015 (4): Ahmad Brooks, Aaron Lynch, Corey Lemonier, Eli Harold
2016 (5): NaVorro Bowman, Gerald Hodges, Ray-Ray Armstrong, Michael Wilhoite, Nick Bellore
2015 (4): NaVorro Bowman, Shayne Skov, Nick Bellore, Michael Wilhoite
Cornerbacks
2016 (7): Tramaine Brock, Jimmie Ward, Chris Davis, Rashard Robinson, Will Redmond, Keith Reaser, Dontae Johnson
2015 (5): Tramaine Brock, Dontae Johnson, Keith Reaser, Kenneth Acker, Shareece Wright
2016 (4): Eric Reid, Antoine Bethea, Jaquiski Tartt, Marcus Cromartie
2015 (5): Eric Reid, Antoine Bethea, Jimmie Ward, Jaquiski Tartt, L.