SANTA CLARA — Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch smiled at each other Wednesday as the 49ers’ head honchos strode off the practice field, past the “Forty Niner Way” street sign and into Shanahan’s field-level office.
The final offseason practice was done. A rigorous training camp and promising season await.
For the next 15 minutes back out on the field, however, their quarterback kept working. He kept throwing. He directed two young receivers where to go. Jimmy “5-and-0” Garoppolo delayed his summer break for more target practice with tight end George Kittle and wide receiver Kendrick Bourne.
Garoppolo called it a “very successful” first go-round in the 49ers offseason program. But not to the point he’s overplaying his or the 49ers’ outlook, not when there’s so much work to do, not after completing 8-of-19 passes in his final practice and nearly having his last throw intercepted in the end zone.
“I’ve come a long way (laughs) especially from last season cramming everything in,” Garoppolo said. “But still have a long way to go developing that chemistry between me and the skill position, the O-line, everything.”
Locking up Garoppolo to a long-term deal in February kick started a banner offseason. Then came: a good-looking gamble on All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman, the arrival of multi-dimensional running back Jerick McKinnon, the offensive line’s fortification with center Weston Richburg and right tackle Mike McGlinchey, and, of course, star linebacker Reuben Foster’s exoneration from a judge regarding domestic-violence charges.
A trendy, offseason pick rarely lives up to playoff expectations. The 49ers have done nothing to make anyone reconsider their resurrection.
“What I’m happy with when I look out on the field with our players, when I look at our coaches, we’re better,” Shanahan said. “We’re deeper. We’re faster. We move our 11 guys better together. That should happen.”
After Thursday’s minicamp finale — a morning meeting followed by a family get-together — all 49ers aren’t due back until July 26 for training camp, and Garoppolo wisely knows what flaws he and Shanahan’s offense must immediately address.
“The big part for us as a whole offensively is just finishing in the end zone,” Garoppolo said. “Last year we got stopped short a couple of times more than we’d like to. We’ve done a good job this OTAs and minicamp of finishing in the end zone, for the most part.”
On Garoppolo’s final minicamp pass, he tried forcing a pass to Aldrick Robinson, only to have starting cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon (Richard Sherman’s protégé) nearly intercept the ball. Four C.J. Beathard incompletions later and the 49ers’ offseason program was done, at 1:50 p.m.
Well, not totally done, as Garoppolo stayed late, as he did after Tuesday’s minicamp session, when all the offense stuck around to work on listening to his cadence because of too many false starts in practice.
“It was cool to see,” Shanahan said of the post-practice work. “It’s always nice when you don’t demand anything, and you hope it’s their standard, not ours. That’s what makes it real.”
Added Garoppolo: “You want guys who care about the game, who care about this team, and I think we have a good group in there.”
Garoppolo will visit his family in their Chicago suburb this summer but otherwise plans to work out in the Bay Area with teammates, adding: “This is home now.”
— Wide receiver Marquise Goodwin (tight back) and defensive back Jimmie Ward (ankle) did not practice either day of minicamp.
— Linebacker Fred Warner, a third-round draft pick, signed his rookie contract. He’s worked as the middle linebacker from the first- to third-string units as the 49ers’ limited Malcolm Smith (groin).
— An MRI on linebacker Dekoda Watson revealed a calf strain from Tuesday, Shanahan said.
— Dante Pettis watched most of the team drills after catching all four passes that came his way Tuesday.
— Rookie D.J. Reed, the second-string nickel back behind K’Waun Williams, almost intercepted a Beathard pass in the end zone intended.
— Jullian Taylor, a seventh-round pick from Temple, looks like a keeper as his 6-foot-5, 280-pound frame consistently provided pass-rush pressure from the right edge.
— Former linebacker Larry Grant was named the 49ers’ Nunn-Wooten Scouting Fellow, a NFL program that ushers ex-players into the scouting ranks.
— Mike Shanahan, Kyle’s father and the 49ers’ offensive coordinator from 1992-94, watched both minicamp practices. He attended only a couple practices last year while visiting from his Colorado home.
