Is there any 49er that is more over-rated than Delanie Walker?

Just asking. I keep hearing that the 49ers shouldn't draft a tight-end because they've got one great TE and one "very good TE." I'm just trying to discover what this is being based off of?


-His career high of 330 yards receiving?

-His career total of 5 touchdown's?

-The fact that he's 6 feet tall, considerably shorter than just about every other tight-end in football?

-The fact that up until this season he had fumbled the ball away more times than he had scored touchdowns?

-After the Giants game he went the rest of the season without a reception and dropped a few key passes during that time.


I just don't get the hype. Yeah he's a good blocker and a so-so receiver, but he's also extremely under-sized, seeing how frequently the 49ers use 2 TE sets, I think its rather foolish to say "oh no, they don't need to improve" when you've got a rather ordinary 2nd TE by all accounts.

I'm just trying to figure out where the hype is coming from. He's a solid player and a good stop-gap but to go out and say "no, we're good, we don't need anymore" when New England had 2 tight-ends with basically 1000 yard seasons, when Carolina has 2 TE's going 6'5", is very short-sighted.


Yet I keep hearing on the Webzone and pretty much everywhere else "oh, no, we're good, we have two good tight ends, we don't need anymore", like this self-perpetuating mythology that has built up.

(Lock)

Originally posted by Niner915:
(Lock)

To understand why people (myself included) like Delanie, you have to look at more than numbers. That game isn't played on teh stat-sheet. You have to look at what he's capable of WHEN HE GETS A CHANCE. The guy is better than Vernon with the ball in his hands. He just doesn't get as many opportunities to get his hands on the ball. This season looked like it was going to be his year. He was playing very well and then all of the sudden they stopped trowing him the ball.

My issue with him isn't height....it's the fact that he tends to fumble. Other than that tho he is dnagerous with the ball in his hands and while he wasn't a very good plocker early on, he has improved dramatically.

I dunno maybe because he can play like 10 positions and is a capable receiver

walker is a good player. yes, if we have a chance at an elite TE prospect we should take him (assuming he's BPA), but i wouldn't consider upgrading TE to be a priority.

Originally posted by RonMexico:
I dunno maybe because he can play like 10 positions and is a capable receiver

Call me crazy but I'd rather have a guy who's good at playing tight-end and is a legitimate red-zone threat than a jack of all trades and master of none.

Originally posted by RonMexico:
I dunno maybe because he can play like 10 positions and is a capable receiver

this. everyone move along now.

Originally posted by Marvin49:
To understand why people (myself included) like Delanie, you have to look at more than numbers. That game isn't played on teh stat-sheet. You have to look at what he's capable of WHEN HE GETS A CHANCE. The guy is better than Vernon with the ball in his hands. He just doesn't get as many opportunities to get his hands on the ball. This season looked like it was going to be his year. He was playing very well and then all of the sudden they stopped trowing him the ball.

My issue with him isn't height....it's the fact that he tends to fumble. Other than that tho he is dnagerous with the ball in his hands and while he wasn't a very good plocker early on, he has improved dramatically.

See you make this claim but the numbers just don't bear it out. As far as yards after the catch, that has gone down every single season for the past 4 years and he was only at 3.6 this year, compared to Aaron Hernandez at 7 YAC and even an aging Jeremy Shockey at 5.0 YAC. As far as being a tight-end, when teams can lock him down in the end-zone with a single safety because he's only 6 feet tall, then basically you're playing him for his value as a blocking h-back and little else.


I could say that Brett Swain is dangerous with the ball, hell, he could be Devin Hester, but since he can't get open, nobody will ever know.

Originally posted by theGOAT:
this. everyone move along now.

He plays like 10 positions but isn't very good at any of them, that's the problem.

They tried him at WR, didn't work, tried him at kick-returning, didn't work, now he's playing tight-end, where he does a solid job as a blocker, but what else is he bringing to the table?

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by RonMexico:
I dunno maybe because he can play like 10 positions and is a capable receiver

Call me crazy but I'd rather have a guy who's good at playing tight-end and is a legitimate red-zone threat than a jack of all trades and master of none.

no one on the team is a redzone threat, why focus on Walker


btw I'd be happy keeping walker, VD and drafting Fleener

Originally posted by RonMexico:
no one on the team is a redzone threat, why focus on Walker


btw I'd be happy keeping walker, VD and drafting Fleener

That's the whole problem. Everyone can identify what the problem is, but when you start talking about adding a big physical TE who can make an impact in the red-zone, people start off with the usual "Nah, we got 2 good TE's, we're fine", when you have one guy who realistically isn't much of a threat down there.


That's basically what I'm trying to get at. Where is this attitude coming from? If this team was lousy in the red-zone, and Delanie was a part of that, why wouldn't you look to upgrade to a bigger threat in that area?

The guy is a mismatch, too fast for LBS and safeties and too strong for CBs no he is not a Gronk or Hernandez but he is a very good player, no reason to have this much hate for the guy

In before joec tries to sell us on how Walker is awesome.


Walker's got his moments shifting around as a FB hybrid type and the occasional wheel route.. but he is overrated.

How does a pro receiver turn their hands the wrong way and drop an easy, wide open TD pass?!?

Why is Delanie so highly regarded?

Here's why:
1) Great blocker
2) Natural receiver
3) Extremely hard worker
4) Great in space

The guy does a bunch of little things that don't show up on the stat sheet. He's a really good player, and a great complement to Vernon.