Kyle Shanahan's comments speak volumes about Drake Jackson's standing with the 49ers heading into year three

Drake Jackson saw a positive start to his 2023 season prove to be a false dawn of the breakout year he hoped to produce, and his hopes of taking a step forward for the San Francisco 49ers in 2024 already appear to be fading.

Jackson underwent patellar tendon surgery in January, the edge rusher having been placed on injured reserve eight games into last season. That campaign began with a three-sack effort in a Week 1 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, but Jackson failed to add to that tally.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Monday offered an update on Jackson's recovery, and it was far from a positive one.

“We’ve got to see how rehab continues to go but definitely not any time in camp,” Shanahan said when asked when Jackson might return.

“Anytime you do that type of surgery that he had.... those are big surgeries. They’re tough to come back from. You never know how they’re going to react. We always know it’s a possibility to take a long time, and it’s taking a long time."

Jackson's elongated road to recovery makes it likely he could start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list, allowing the 49ers to keep him around without using a 53-man roster spot . Jackson would have to miss the first four games before the Niners would need to make a decision over whether to activate him.

While that could be seen as a positive for the 49ers from a roster management perspective, there are few plusses from the situation for Jackson, San Francisco's top pick as a second-rounder in the 2022 draft.

And more worrying for him than the fact he is still some way off returning to the field is how calm Shanahan seems to be about the 49ers' depth at edge rusher without him.

San Francisco added Leonard Floyd and Yetur Gross-Matos in free agency, with both players impressing to this point in camp, their strong starts suggesting they will be able to provide crucial help to 2022 Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa that was too often conspicuous by its absence last season.

There have also been positive noises about the progress made by last year's fifth-round pick Robert Beal Jr. and, despite Jackson's misfortune, Shanahan sounded more optimistic tones about the state of San Francisco's defensive front.

"We knew that coming in with Drake and, bringing in Yetur and bringing in Leonard, we've addressed that," Shanahan said when asked if the edge depth is a concern.

"We feel good about what we came in with our D-Line and, five practices in, we feel just as good if not better."

Shanahan's comments are in large part a reflection of how well the defensive front has performed in camp to this point against and undermanned and overmatched offensive line missing All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams.

But it's also telling that there was no indication from Shanahan that the 49ers are missing anything from the defensive line without Jackson, who on talent alone arguably has the highest ceiling of any defensive end on the San Francisco roster not named Bosa.

Through one-and-a-half seasons, Jackson hasn't shown very many signs of realizing that potential and, with last season's injury having an extended impact, it would be understandable if the Niners have significantly lowered their expectations of him doing so.

By missing camp, Jackson has essentially gone from top pick to a player now fifth in the pecking order at best at edge rusher and one whose absence isn't likely to be overly telling when the Niners start the season. When he does recover, Jackson will face a steep uphill climb to get to a position where he will be able to make a tangible impact on San Francisco's 2024 fortunes.

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