Scott

Tolzien

Tolzien, 37, who played quarterback in the NFL from 2013 to 2017, will join Kellen Moore’s staff in New Orleans. Tolzien was on the Dallas coaching staff with Moore two years ago. In New Orleans, Tolzien will work with Derek Carr to implement Moore’s offense after Moore led the Eagles offense to a productive season that ended with a Super Bowl championship. The Saints also added RB coach Joel Thomas, formerly of the Giants, to the coaching staff.

It’s an important distinction, as Harbaugh believes heavily in a competition. Kaepernick, Josh Johnson, and Scott Tolzien will battle for the second, third, and fourth spots while Smith is separate as the No. 1 quarterback. Kaepernick will have to outplay Johnson in training camp to be the fallback option should Smith stumble during the season.

Embellishment-prone coach Jim Harbaugh has insisted there’s a three-man competition between Kaepernick, Josh Johnson and Scott Tolzien to back up Smith, but predictably, that hasn’t appeared to be the case through the early days of Niners camp. The job is Kaepernick’s to lose.

Kaepernick’s gradually improving accuracy has been scattershot throughout camp, but Josh Johnson has been no better. Kaepernick’s 104 yards on four preseason rushing attempts suggests the 49ers would do well to include him in more special packages this season. Johnson is battling Scott Tolzien for the final quarterback spot.

Johnson suggested that the order of appearance in the game reflected the training camp depth chart. “Since I’ve gotten here, it’s pretty much been that order,” Johnson said. Colin Kaepernick appears to have a firm grip on the No. 2 job, and the coaching staff remains high on Scott Tolzien as the developmental QB. Johnson is on the roster bubble.

The Niners’ top two QBs are Alex Smith and rookie Colin Kaepernick. They’re going thin on the defensive line, perhaps because the Seahawks’ run game isn’t very intimidating. Of course, neither is Seattle’s passing “attack.”

McCoy was brought in to compete with Scott Tolzien. So far, the job has clearly been his. The 2008 Heisman Trophy runner-up has a 6-15 record and 58.3 completion percentage through three NFL seasons.

RE Justin “Cowboy” Smith is ready to roll despite a 50 percent tear to his left triceps, while receivers Chad Hall and A.J. Jenkins are both active. Hall played ahead of Jenkins in the NFC Championship Game despite being signed off the practice squad just one day earlier.

Tolzien, a 2011 undrafted rookie out of Wisconsin, has never thrown a regular-season pass. He’s also a strict pocket quarterback, which could prove problematic for the scheme if the mobile Kaepernick goes down. It’s certainly possible that the Niners use one of their 15 draft picks on an athletic signal-caller or find one in free agency to compete with Tolzien.

The Niners were intrigued by Tolzien’s “headiness” and “moxie,” but he lacked NFL-caliber tangible qualities. San Francisco will move forward -- for now -- with Colt McCoy, B.J. Daniels, and Seneca Wallace behind Colin Kaepernick.