Originally posted by BigYellowKahuna:
Not sure if this has been posted yet but Matt Barrows on Greg Cosell's thought on some of the big WR's in the 2014 draft :
http://blogs.sacbee.com/49ers/archives/2014/02/think-big-a-ranking-of-wrs-who-fit-49ers-physical-style.html
Sorry, s/h posted here as well:
On the topic of WR's, it's nice to know there is some serious SIZE out there for us:
Kelvin Benjamin Florida State 6-5, 234
Mike Evans Texas A&M 6-5, 225
Donte Moncrief Ole Miss 6-3, 226
(Videos of each inside from Cosell) Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/49ers/archives/2014/02/think-big-a-ranking-of-wrs-who-fit-49ers-physical-style.html#storylink=cpy
On the flip side, we have Crabtree (healthy), Boldin and VD who receive around 75% of the passes in this offense. As much as I would love to have some youth, speed, size, athleticism, talent with these guys (for a year or two down the road to replace either Crabtree or Boldin) what we need RIGHT NOW is a Manningham-like player. Manningham is a guy who "had" excellent burst and shakeability off the LOS. He was incredibel as creating space and separation in very tight quarters (esp. the RZ) and was an excellent route runner. Like Jerry Rice said, you win or lose within your first one or two steps off the LOS. Period. We have VD, Crabtree and Boldin...none of these guys are electric at the snap and at the LOS but very good once they get going (Crabtree in RAC, VD in seperation speed and Boldin in body control and positioning - all three have excellent hands).
Now, is Patton in this mold? It's hard to say b/c he's had so few AR or primary read targets. So if we're looking to get better down the road, we should go with the players listed above BUT if we want to improve next year, we may need to get a Manningham-like player later in the draft (ideally if he can double as a #3 WR/Returner).
Thought on who would fit as a returner and excellent Manningham-like player and how this could effect the draft?
PS: Also, don't expect a top first round WR draft pick to get many, if any looks next year with Crabtree, Boldin and VD on the field. It was recently shown that we rarely run 3 or 4+ WR sets. So lower your expectations BIG TIME!