SANTA CLARA – If there are two players worth picking out from an 88-man haystack that is the 49ers’ rookie minicamp, first-round draft picks Solomon Thomas and Reuben Foster are them.Thomas, last week’s No. 3 overall draft pick from Stanford, looked in shape with pure techniques as he led the defensive line through drills, doing so in his new jersey number (96).

Foster came out late to the field after a stretching session, and he did not participate in team drills, as expected because of a recovering shoulder injury. However, he was no bored bystander.

DeMeco Ryans, the 49ers’ defensive quality control coach and a former Pro Bowl linebacker, tutored Foster throughout the 90-minute session. Consider that a positive sign, in that Foster looked eager to learn from Ryans, who won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2006 with the Houston Texans.

Thomas and Foster are rookie-camp roommates, and neither is expected to see much action on the field in the ensuing offseason program. While Foster is three months out from rotator-cuff surgery, Thomas’ interactions with the 49ers will be curtailed after minicamp ends Sunday.

Because Stanford remains in session for another month, Thomas won’t be able to re-join the 49ers until after then, as was the case last year with fellow Stanford product Joshua Garnett. Arik Armstead, the 49ers’ top pick in 2015 out of Oregon, also had a delayed arrival because of the academic calendar.

“It’s really important to show coaches how hard I’m going to work and play with my effort on the field,” said Thomas, who’ll use an iPad to watch film and study the playbook.

Thomas and the 49ers’ other top three draft picks remain unsigned, while their following six are already under contract. “All I care about is playing football,” Thomas said. “I trust my agent, and I trust he’ll get it done as soon as possible.”

Thomas wore No. 90 at Stanford, and he has no ambitions of poaching that number from veteran nose tackle Earl Mitchell. “Earl has it and he’s a vet, so I’m not even going to talk about it,” said Thomas, who’s lining up at “big end” on the defensive line this camp but also is expected to move inside in certain situations.

— Foster, wearing No. 56, typically will have rehabilitation sessions on his right shoulder at 6:30 a.m. so he doesn’t miss any ensuing meetings or practices, according to a team spokesman.

— Numbers assigned to rookie minicamp are subject to change for those who make the season-opening roster. Those assigned to their other draft picks are: quarterback C.J. Beathard (3), cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon (41), running back Joe Williams (33), tight end George Kittle (85), wide receiver Trent Taylor (81), defensive lineman D.J. Jones (66), Pita Taumoepenu (49) and defensive back Adrian Colbert (47).

— Taylor and Kendrick Bourne, an undrafted rookie from Eastern Washington, made several impressive catches. Taylor twice beat Witherspoon on out routes. Cornerbacks David Stevenson and John Walker also impressed in their auditions. Stevenson and safety Lorenzo Jerome had an interception.

— The 49ers have 56 players trying out through Saturday, an astounding amount with only a handful of locals who did not have to fly in to audition. Remarkably, every jersey came personalized with a name on the back.

Among those at tryouts are three from Stanford (safety Dallas Lloyd, wide receiver Emmanuel Obajimi, kicker Conrad Ukropina), two from Cal (long snapper Bradley Northnagel, defensive lineman DeVante Wilson) and UC Davis tight end Nehemiah Winston.

— The 49ers again had a quarterback from Nevada on their field still: Tyler Stewart, who wore the No. 7 once belonging to fellow Nevada product Colin Keapenrick. Matt Barkley will wear that number this season as the expected backup to Brian Hoyer. Kaepernick remains a free agent after terminating his 49ers contract two months ago.

— Don’t be deceived by the 5-foot-8 frame of rookie slot wide receiver Trent Taylor. Before becoming the NCAA’s leader in receiving yards last season at Louisiana Tech, he also was an accomplished high athlete at Evangel Christian Academy. He once broke an opponent’s jaw as a hard-hitting safety, and he reached the state finals in tennis with his quarterback as a doubles partner.

— Defensive back Adrian Colbert, a seventh-round draft pick from Miami, is cousins with 49ers wide receiver Marquise Goodwin. Told that Goodwin claims he is NFL’s fastest man, Colbert responded: “He is.” Asked if Goodwin is faster than him, Colbert again replied: “He is.”

Colbert had a tumultuous college career in which he transferred from Texas to Miami. He brought that up as well as the time he got hit by a car when he was 9, stating: “I got through that, so I can get through anything.”

— The roster is maxed at 90 players following Friday’s release of running back Mike Davis. Over half the roster is comprised of players who weren’t on last season’s team: 19 via veteran free agency, 18 undrafted rookies, 10 drafted players, 2 veterans via trade.