SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The San Francisco 49ers are deep, but especially so on the defensive line.

The early days of training camp are proving that.

Several young players are shining at the position and the 49ers look to have plenty of options behind starters Justin Smith, Ray McDonald and Glenn Dorsey in the 3-4 alignment.

Coach Jim Harbaugh has praised several of the young players because of their early success in camp. Tony Jerod-Eddie and Demarcus Dobbs, key backups last season, are taking the next step. But so are 2013 draft picks Tank Carradine and Quentin Dial.

Carradine, a second-round pick who missed all of last season with a knee injury, looks fantastic. Harbaugh praised his strength and said Carradine, who likely would have been a top-20 pick last year had he not gotten hurt at Florida State in 2012, has ‘heavy hands.” Dial, who played some as a rookie, has been dominant at times in practice.

Another interesting defensive lineman is Lawrence Okoye. The former British Olympic discus thrower is in his second NFL training camp with no previous football experience. He displayed his immense strength in practice Saturday by blowing Jonathan Martin up in a drill.

“I feel like a football player now,” Okoye said Sunday.

Still, Okoye is green and could likely use some seasoning on the practice squad.

Another young defensive lineman to watch is seventh-round pick Kaleb Ramsey of Boston College. He is dealing with injuries, but he was impressive in the offseason workouts.