Cody Latimer, WR, Indiana... all hype? or overlooked awesomeness?

Other than Bruce Miller and Kap are there any offensive players this staff have taken from okay to good?

Michael Crabtree? Although he was a high draft pick he continued to improve every year under this staff and took some pretty big steps into the upper echelon of receivers especially in 2012.

Crabtree was productive before this staff took over. It could be argued that Crabtree's production took off in 2012 not because of him but because of the change at QB.

Originally posted by Scoots:
Other than Bruce Miller and Kap are there any offensive players this staff have taken from okay to good?

How many chances do guys have to actually excel in this offense? The passing game looks like it was extracted from the 1970's and they really haven't let guys play up to their strengths for the most part. On the defensive side, I think Fangio generally puts guys in a position to succeed.

BOTTOM LINE A prep basketball standout, Latimer is a well-built, sure-handed, West Coast possession receiver whose hardwood background is evident in his leaping ability, body control and hand-eye coordination. Lacks ideal explosiveness, gear change and flexibility. Could be effective running slants and making contested catches to beat zone coverage and succeed in the red zone. Has a ceiling as a No. 3.
-Nolan Nawrocki

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&cad=rja&uact=8&sqi=2&ved=0CDoQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nfl.com%2Fdraft%2F2014%2Fprofiles%2Fcody-latimer%3Fid%3D2543590&ei=OZhdU6-uI82LyASkrIDYDQ&usg=AFQjCNEfaTTElbACuFcOrIFcqnY2-ya1kA&sig2=DxsBCC-jgpn46oAMo9GsPg

Originally posted by mayo49:
BOTTOM LINE A prep basketball standout, Latimer is a well-built, sure-handed, West Coast possession receiver whose hardwood background is evident in his leaping ability, body control and hand-eye coordination. Lacks ideal explosiveness, gear change and flexibility. Could be effective running slants and making contested catches to beat zone coverage and succeed in the red zone. Has a ceiling as a No. 3.
-Nolan Nawrocki

Yeah, citing Nawrocki doesn't do much. His evaluations are consistently pessimistic and derogatory.


There's a lot of others who love Latimer's ceiling and think he has true #1 WR type potential. To me he is very raw, but all the tools to be a complete and dominant NFL wide receiver. He's got the hands, attacks the ball in the air ferociously, physical, tough and a terrific run blocker. Athletically he's not a classical deep threat but has shown the ability to beat coverage off the line and get down the field in a hurry.


He's definitely got that basketball player's mentality, which much like for Ellington, is only an asset for a wide receiver, tremendous balance in the air, uses his frame well to clear defender's out. His biggest weakness at this point IMO is his need to develop as a route runner. If the 49ers feel like they'll need a replacement for Crabtree or Boldin after next season, they could do quite worse than Latimer.

Can anyone point out the last Big Ten WR drafted in the first round that was worth a crap?? It's no coincidence that WR from that conference rarely pan out. Decker and Hartline are barely #2s! Stay away from the Big Ten! Pure garbage!

Originally posted by mutant-man49:
Can anyone point out the last Big Ten WR drafted in the first round that was worth a crap?? It's no coincidence that WR from that conference rarely pan out. Decker and Hartline are barely #2s! Stay away from the Big Ten! Pure garbage!

Can anyone point out the last QB from Miami of Ohio before Big Ben that was worth a damn? How about the last QB from Nevada before Kaepernick? The last great kicker from South Dakota State before Vinatieri? Who was the last great WR from Northern Colorado before Vincent Jackson?



Your logic is lacking and you don't seem to see it. You evaluate the player, not the conference. Aaron Rodgers fell partly because Cal had produced some shoddy QB's in previous years, now a lot of teams are kicking themselves for passing up on him. You don't pass up on a highly talented prospect because of their school or conference, you evaluate them on their own, individual merits.


Latimer was all set to wind up at Oklahoma but followed the former OC there to Indiana. In your book would him having played at Oklahoma somehow made him a better prospect?

Reports like Nawrocki's have been completely devalued, as many claimed he lacked speed, but workouts have shown that to be far from the truth. I would say that size and speed isn't definitive proof of anything, but we are not the only ones looking at him, and he will go early to some team. If the team wants him, get him, but I'll support anyone we draft until they prove they are not worth the support. It won't be because our draft class gets a low grade from some analyst.

Originally posted by genus49:

Originally posted by SofaKing:
Completely agree. The failures of Williams, Jenkins, Baldwin, and Johnson is not really on Morton. There was nothing to develop there. The failure was in the scouting, and the players themselves. They didn't produce in SF, or anywhere else for that matter. Those guys are garbage.

Crabtree has really taken off under Morton, and Boldin just had his best season in 4 years. If you give him quality talent to work with, the players will produce. This is a VERY good coaching staff. Just need better receiving talent.

That's ridiculous. Our guys were pathetic at the position without Crabtree in there. Crab was a top receiver in that draft and would produce under any coach due to his talent alone. If anything it took too long for him to get to the level he should be at and he probably learned more from Randy Moss and Anquan Boldin than he did from Morton.

Morton went to bat for us to draft Ronald Johnson...dude couldnt' even make the roster and meanwhile Doug Baldwin didn't sign with us as a free agent because he felt we had too many guys for him to make the roster.

He has done a horrible job and there should be no arguing that. The fact that he still has a job with us is crazy to me.

I'm not saying he can turn s**t into gold. Yes, he probably convinced the staff to take Ronald Johnson. That was a miss. But the most important thing is TALENT. You get real talented football players in here, and they will produce.

I'm not saying Morton is behind Crab and Boldin's success. That's clearly not the case, they were good players beforehand. I'm just saying their production increased under this coaching staff.

Did Jerry Sullivan develop Crabtree? Hell no. Good players produce, bad players do not. The WR coach has little to do with it. They just teach the principles of the offense to the player and assist in refining technique. Whether they produce or not is largely up to the player and offensive playcalling.

To say it's "ridiculous" that we have a good coaching staff is ridiculous.

Morton / Roman = this guy's doom

I'm unimpressed with Morton as far as making anything of a fairly big bunch of WRs, but it's not just on Morton it's also on our QBs ability and faith to get the ball to them. Let's hope it changes this year as Boldin and Crabtree are not going to be around much longer most likely.

LOL @ WR coaches turning players into studs.

Quick! Which WR coach turned Calvin Johnson into a stud? A.J. Green? Josh Gordon? Jerry Rice? Randy Moss? Cris Carter? Tim Brown?

Good players are good players. Has s**t to do with the WR coach.

Originally posted by Scoots:
I'm unimpressed with Morton as far as making anything of a fairly big bunch of WRs, but it's not just on Morton it's also on our QBs ability and faith to get the ball to them. Let's hope it changes this year as Boldin and Crabtree are not going to be around much longer most likely.

Of what WR's? Kyle Williams? Ronald Johnson? Josh Morgan? Jenkins was a bust and didn't do much of anything in KC as well. I don't think there's anything impressive by what he's done but I think it's a bit early to make a prognosis on his ability to develop receivers, especially considering this offense which might be the least receiver-friendly offense in the NFL. I can see a guy like Patton being a huge contributor for teams such as Green Bay or the Giants for example.

Originally posted by SofaKing:
LOL @ WR coaches turning players into studs.

Quick! Which WR coach turned Calvin Johnson into a stud? A.J. Green? Josh Gordon? Jerry Rice? Randy Moss? Cris Carter? Tim Brown?

Good players are good players. Has s**t to do with the WR coach.

This. Can't polish a turd. Patton is the most talented receiver they've acquired since Crabtree and he looked good late in the season.