Drafting a TE This Year: Why it Would Possibly Be a GREAT Move

i'm on board...i still think we need a badass WR at some point though

OTC - What do you think about Evan Rodriguez from Temple? Similar build to Orson Charles, he is listed at 6-3 250 and almost identical statistical production to Charles. In all the youtube highlights I could find on the guy they used him extensively in the backfield as blocker and out wide as well as a traditional TE.

Typically listed as a 3rd round prospect from what i could find.

i still dont see how putting 3 TEs on the field would be a match-up nightmare. davis would get the nickel corner.

Originally posted by niners9:
i still dont see how putting 3 TEs on the field would be a match-up nightmare. davis would get the nickel corner.

corners are too small, LBs are too slow, Safeties would be one or the other (or both). Against 3 TEs, you can't afford to go nickel, because we will run all over you. Against 3 athletic TEs, you can't afford to go Jumbo, because someone will run free in your defensive backfield.

Originally posted by sfout:

OTC - What do you think about Evan Rodriguez from Temple? Similar build to Orson Charles, he is listed at 6-3 250 and almost identical statistical production to Charles. In all the youtube highlights I could find on the guy they used him extensively in the backfield as blocker and out wide as well as a traditional TE.

Typically listed as a 3rd round prospect from what i could find.

I think he's a sleeper as a potential Hernandez type. He supposedly got some solid reviews from the East-West Shrine practices. There, he weighed in at 6'1 5/8" 242 pounds. He is expected to play more of an H-back role in the NFL, and I believe he's rated around the 4th or 5th round right now. 3rd round is a little early for a guy seen as too small for a TE. He does have OK athleticism (estimated 4.67 forty time), but there were notes that he couldn't block very well. Not good if you want to be a TE/FB/H-back. His best asset are his hands. Reports were that he showed very good hands and the ability to make tough catches.

Originally posted by niners9:
i still dont see how putting 3 TEs on the field would be a match-up nightmare. davis would get the nickel corner.

if they come out in a nickel defense we run the ball. that's the matchup nightmare part.

Vernon, Michael Egnew, and Delainie playing H-Back = Championship.

You could spread them out, bunch them up, play them in the backfield, or in the slot. Misdirections with Hunter could be homeruns all day. Playactions with Egnew and Davis up opposite seams, etc.

i want another

Originally posted by WRATHman44:

Originally posted by niners9:
i still dont see how putting 3 TEs on the field would be a match-up nightmare. davis would get the nickel corner.

corners are too small, LBs are too slow, Safeties would be one or the other (or both). Against 3 TEs, you can't afford to go nickel, because we will run all over you. Against 3 athletic TEs, you can't afford to go Jumbo, because someone will run free in your defensive backfield.

just thinking about our offense's potential with the addition of another pass catching te, added help at wr and another yr in the same offense with a whole off season makes me hate having to wait till tc

Originally posted by TheGoldStandard:
if they come out in a nickel defense we run the ball. that's the matchup nightmare part.

Vernon, Michael Egnew, and Delainie playing H-Back = Championship.

You could spread them out, bunch them up, play them in the backfield, or in the slot. Misdirections with Hunter could be homeruns all day. Playactions with Egnew and Davis up opposite seams, etc.

Egnew.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by TheGoldStandard:
if they come out in a nickel defense we run the ball. that's the matchup nightmare part.

Vernon, Michael Egnew, and Delainie playing H-Back = Championship.

You could spread them out, bunch them up, play them in the backfield, or in the slot. Misdirections with Hunter could be homeruns all day. Playactions with Egnew and Davis up opposite seams, etc.

Egnew.

You're right he even has EW right in his name.

Originally posted by mike:
You're right he even has EW right in his name.

I refer to him as the Checkdown King because he ends up getting jammed by even midget CB's.

I've been on board for the TE in the first round for quite some time. I do believe that the league will begin trending in this direction due to the effectivity we saw this year with Davis , Grodkowski, and Grahm to combat the typically smaller faster d.b.s and slower l.b.s . There could be some spectacular Olinemen left in the draft when we pick. Alex did get sacked 44 times in the regular season ..

Originally posted by TheGoldStandard:

Originally posted by niners9:

i still dont see how putting 3 TEs on the field would be a match-up nightmare. davis would get the nickel corner.

if they come out in a nickel defense we run the ball. that's the matchup nightmare part.

Vernon, Michael Egnew, and Delainie playing H-Back = Championship.

You could spread them out, bunch them up, play them in the backfield, or in the slot. Misdirections with Hunter could be homeruns all day. Playactions with Egnew and Davis up opposite seams, etc.

May be better off targeting Egnew in rd 3 than Fleener in rd 1
Michael Egnew 6-6 / 245 lbs / 4.60 40
. . . Mizzou college career: 147 catches 1332 yards 8 TD's
"His athleticism, as well as his height and strong hands, make him a valuable weapon down the seam as well as a red-zone target. Three-sport high school standout also excelled in basketball and track and field, where he placed 2nd in the state championships in the long jump … Has a career best long jump of 24-4 and a triple jump of 43-feet. Intangibles: Gives excellent on-field effort, playing much stronger than his wiry frame belies. Gains praises from coaches and teammates for his work ethic."

Originally posted by jacklegniner:
Great move for many reasons. People want to upgrade the wr corp with the high priced FA wr like colston and bowe and v. jacks. We can't resign our own guys like brooks, smith, goldson, rodgers, etc... if we break the bank for a wr. we can get a mid level FA wr like doucet, Jerome Simpson, or maybe Eddie Royal. Then draft Fleener or another TE and then even draft a wr in the 3rd or 4th. That would give us Fleener and VD, mismatch TE's and great for blocking in our ball control offense. Crabtree and Morgan as the wr's (Crabs as much as people hate him actually accounted for almost 1000 yards of the 3000 Alex threw). adding Royal would be speed and I think he does punt returns as well. Ad we could do all of it without breaking the bank and can still build through the draft.

I'd love to bring in Colston, at the right price. We shouldn't break the bank for no player, you are right. But for the life of me I can't figure out why people really think Fleener willl be there when we pick. His stock is rising. But even more perplexion to me is why some seem to think we just don't have enough TE's, even more how many are minimizing the WR position. I took a lot of time off today just to look at film of Fleener and more of the 49ers offense. I just needed to make sure I wan't crazy. Fleener is as good as advertised. Not the quickest or most fluid, but good staight-line speed for his size. Probably the best natural hands of all TE's in the draft. Runs really precise routs and I saw him just abuse LB's trying to hold him at the line of scrimmage. My only hit on him is his lateral mobility, which makes him a liability in the seams against NFL zones packages. Other than that he's a top 15 or 20 guy.

Having said all that, my study of the 49ers offense tells me that our WR corp needs to be upgraded. Crabs was grossly inconsistant, and it was evident in how Alex really lost confidence in him as the season progressed. His rout running was horrible from what I saw on film. This was the year for Crabs to take full ownership of the #1 role and he couldn't - no Morgan, no Edwards (for the most part). In fact, with a lagit #1 WR he drops to #3 in my mind. This team really missed Morgan. Morgan's game is taylor made for Harbaugh's style of offense. I'm sorry, and I don't care if I'm the lone wolf on this, but the 49ers really need a WR. It was our biggest weakness and the main reason our red-zone offense suffered. After Morgan went down our WR's challenged no one. The coaching staff did a masterful job at scheming around that too. With the hole at WR nothing justifies a pick other than a WR in the first, even the home-town fav Fleener.

Originally posted by sfout:
OTC - What do you think about Evan Rodriguez from Temple? Similar build to Orson Charles, he is listed at 6-3 250 and almost identical statistical production to Charles. In all the youtube highlights I could find on the guy they used him extensively in the backfield as blocker and out wide as well as a traditional TE.

Typically listed as a 3rd round prospect from what i could find.

i saw this guy in Pro Football Weeklys draft reports and he seemed like a guy that could be used like niners use delanie walker, i.e all over the field, tight, wide, in the backfield...

Originally posted by 9ersLiferInChicago:

I'd love to bring in Colston, at the right price. We shouldn't break the bank for no player, you are right. But for the life of me I can't figure out why people really think Fleener willl be there when we pick. His stock is rising. But even more perplexion to me is why some seem to think we just don't have enough TE's, even more how many are minimizing the WR position. I took a lot of time off today just to look at film of Fleener and more of the 49ers offense. I just needed to make sure I wan't crazy. Fleener is as good as advertised. Not the quickest or most fluid, but good staight-line speed for his size. Probably the best natural hands of all TE's in the draft. Runs really precise routs and I saw him just abuse LB's trying to hold him at the line of scrimmage. My only hit on him is his lateral mobility, which makes him a liability in the seams against NFL zones packages. Other than that he's a top 15 or 20 guy.

Having said all that, my study of the 49ers offense tells me that our WR corp needs to be upgraded. Crabs was grossly inconsistant, and it was evident in how Alex really lost confidence in him as the season progressed. His rout running was horrible from what I saw on film. This was the year for Crabs to take full ownership of the #1 role and he couldn't - no Morgan, no Edwards (for the most part). In fact, with a lagit #1 WR he drops to #3 in my mind. This team really missed Morgan. Morgan's game is taylor made for Harbaugh's style of offense. I'm sorry, and I don't care if I'm the lone wolf on this, but the 49ers really need a WR. It was our biggest weakness and the main reason our red-zone offense suffered. After Morgan went down our WR's challenged no one. The coaching staff did a masterful job at scheming around that too. With the hole at WR nothing justifies a pick other than a WR in the first, even the home-town fav Fleener.

Do you actually have access to the coaches films, w/ wide angles and view of the whole field, or are you limited to the same sources as the rest of us (recorded tv broadcasts of games and youtube)? I ask because you keep talking about film review, but the tv broadcasts generally show 10-20% of the routes run in a given game (tough sample size for a full study).

Secondly, I don't think anyone is saying that they don't want a WR at all, just that we are more likely to make a big difference with one of the top 2 TE in the draft than the 4th-6th best WR, considering our draft position, the make-up of this year's wr class, and the fact that Fleener (or allen) can do a lot of the things that a tall WR can (like you said, he runs great routes, which can get a slow guy open, and he's not slow. He is also always open 5ft above his head). Open is open. I don't see a huge drop-off in the WR talent from the bottom of the 1st well into the 3rd round. That just seems like bad value to jump in the 1st because of need. If the right player isn't there (and I sincerely think all of the 1st round WR talent will be gone by our pick), you can't just reach w/a need pick in the 1st. As I mentioned before, JJ Stokes and TO came to us in the same draft, and JJ was the 1st round reach. You stated that you prefer Morgan to Crabtree. That's a 1st (top 10, actually) vs a 6th right there. Detroit needed a WR for years, So Millen always took one in the 1st. We know how that turned out, and they weren't picking 30th. EVAR. We could probably take 2 talented WRs later in the draft, let them compete and keep the better of them if one busts out. Every year, some dumb team(s) get caught in the WR hype machine, and they burn a high pick. I don't want it to be us.