While Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner have received a bulk of the headlines for their performances early in 49ers training camp, another young defensive lineman is making a positive impression in Santa Clara.

Rookie fifth-round pick Ronald Blair is working his way up the depth chart and is poised to earn a significant role along coordinator Jim O’Neil’s defensive front.

“His versatility will allow him to play everywhere across the front,” O’Neil said Saturday. “He’s a guy that we we get a little bit deeper into camp, he’s a guy we’ll probably create some packages for. You can’t ignore his play-making ability out here at practice so far.”

Blair has been featured at all four spots along San Francisco’s defensive line in sub packages in practice, working with the starters and the second team.

During his time at Appalachian State, he showed similar versatility, lining up all over the Mountaineers’ line, leading the team in tackles for loss (32) and sacks (13.5) combined in his final two seasons.

The 49ers figure to play in their sub packages roughly two-thirds of the time, and will rotate heavily to keep players fresh while playing opposite Chip Kelly’s up-tempo offense. During Kelly’s three seasons in Philadelphia, his defenses led the NFL in snaps played.

San Francisco brought Blair in to improve a pass rush that finished with the third-fewest sacks in the NFL in 2015.

And with outside linebacker Aaron Lynch, a fifth-round pick in 2014, suspended for the first four games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, Blair will be used to rush the quarterback from the edges as a traditional defensive end in passing downs.

“He makes plays wherever he’s aligned along the front,” O’Neil said. Whether it’s at the nose, the three-(technique), end, he’s a guy that you can move around and do some things with him from a pressure standpoint. We’re going to teach him drop stuff (into coverage).

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“He’s a big part of our plans in the next couple weeks.”

Working with the starters in practice have been primarily Ahmad Brooks and Eli Harold, with Lynch and Corey Lemonier working with the twos in base packages. In sub, where the 49ers employ a four-down front and use outside linebackers as defensive ends, Blair and Tank Carradine have seen a volume of reps.