The San Francisco 49ers met the Tennessee Titans for a joint practice at their SAP Performance Facility earlier this week, setting up for their preseason battle on Thursday night, which resulted in Kyle Shanahan's team taking a 19-13 loss.
San Francisco kept most of their starters on the bench for this one, while Tennessee played most of theirs for the first half before bringing in the backups later on.
This was the first opportunity that we've had to see many of these players in a game setting, and even though the result wasn't what they hoped, the 49ers still got some strong performances out of a few guys.
Here are San Francisco's top performers from Thursday's preseason opener.
QB Kurtis Rourke
Rourke missed his entire rookie season in 2025 while recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered at Indiana. He showed up and showed out in his NFL debut, completing 85.7% of his passes for 101 yards. He also rushed three times for 14 yards. Unfortunately, his night ended a bit early due to a rib injury, but if he's healthy, he has the upper hand to be the third-string quarterback.
WR De'Zhaun Stribling
San Francisco was mocked for taking Stribling with the first pick on Day 2 of the 2026 NFL draft, but he's looked great in training camp, and he continued that trend on Thursday. While playing in the first half, he caught seven passes for 63 yards, including a 32-yard highlight down the right sideline.
LB Jaden Dugger
The 49ers took Dugger in the fifth round of this year's draft, and in a loaded linebacker room, he was kind of an afterthought, but he's put himself in a position to be a potential contributor when the regular season starts up. He was only credited with a pair of tackles on Thursday, but he was playing with NFL energy.
DL Gracen Halton
San Francisco's fourth-round pick was another rookie who made an impact on Thursday, as he finished with four tackles, including one for a loss. Halton also would've had a sack if it wasn't for a defensive holding that probably didn't change the result.
P Corliss Waitman
The 49ers moved on from Thomas Morstead and held a competition this offseason between Waitman and undrafted rookie Jack Bouwmeester. San Francisco waived the first-year punter on Wednesday, and Waitman showed that they made the right choice. He punted four times with a long of 58 yards, and three of them were downed inside the 20-yard line.
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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Rookie WR headlines best performers in 49ers preseason loss to Titans