WR Richie James

Originally posted by ninersrule4:

Originally posted by Nastastical:

Originally posted by ninersrule4:

Originally posted by sacniner:

Originally posted by NinerGM:

So does James make the team now?

Yup:

Deebo
Aiyuk
Bourne
Hurd
James Jr
Trent

One of the bottom three might not make it, but it won't be Richie. He's shown enough value

My non educated guess
Deebo
Aiyuk
Pettis
Bourne
Taylor
Hurd/James

The fight for the last spot will be between Pettis/James/Jennings. If Hurd and Taylor are healthy, both are solid bets to make the team. Richie's biggest value is his special teams play as a reliable returner, but we have multiple guys who can double up as return men and the list got longer with the addition of Aiyuk.

If Pettis has his mind right and shows up in shape and ready like year 1 he will beat out everyone. I'm actually really excited to see if he wants it or not

I'm not completely giving up on Pettis, but after his benching last season, one has to think he's on a very short leash. If healthy, Deebo, Aiyuk, Bourne, Taylor, and Hurd are all locks imo. That leaves 1 spot or maybe 2 if Kyle keeps 7 guys and leaves another position shorthanded.

Richie's about to backflip his way off the roster...

This reminds me of when the roster got good enough so that we had to say bye-bye to Arnaz Battle

Originally posted by Nastastical:
I'm not completely giving up on Pettis, but after his benching last season, one has to think he's on a very short leash. If healthy, Deebo, Aiyuk, Bourne, Taylor, and Hurd are all locks imo. That leaves 1 spot or maybe 2 if Kyle keeps 7 guys and leaves another position shorthanded.

Injuries will ultimately play a roll also. However, our 7th round pick may also take a spot from a TE, as Hurd also might take a spot used elsewhere like TE too.

Originally posted by ninersrule4:

Originally posted by Nastastical:

Originally posted by ninersrule4:

Originally posted by sacniner:

Originally posted by NinerGM:
So does James make the team now?

Yup:

Deebo
Aiyuk
Bourne
Hurd
James Jr
Trent

One of the bottom three might not make it, but it won't be Richie. He's shown enough value

My non educated guess
Deebo
Aiyuk
Pettis
Bourne
Taylor
Hurd/James

The fight for the last spot will be between Pettis/James/Jennings. If Hurd and Taylor are healthy, both are solid bets to make the team. Richie's biggest value is his special teams play as a reliable returner, but we have multiple guys who can double up as return men and the list got longer with the addition of Aiyuk.

If Pettis has his mind right and shows up in shape and ready like year 1 he will beat out everyone. I'm actually really excited to see if he wants it or not

I agree. An in shape Pettis, ready to go is a starter on this team. I don't see any receiver beating him out if he comes to camp ready.

WIth that said, I think Richie James is being underrated. While I don't think he gives me visions of Devin Hester, he's solid as a returner. Also, although Aiyuk can be a returner, it's not a given he will beat Richie James out. Dante Pettis has the all-time punt return yardage record in college and he couldn't do it. Also, James it good for a couple of big plays per season. Aiyuk, Bourne, Samuel, and Hurd are my locks. After that, I like Pettis/Benjamin, James, and Jennings. I link Benjamin and Pettis together because now that Goodwin is gone, they are the fastest remaining guys (deep threats). Pettis should win that battle easily however because historically, Benjamin has bad hands. And not just for one season like Pettis. Taylor is the guy that I have not making it. Trent Taylor was money in 2017, but that was a LOOOONG time ago. Also, Taylor only brings one thing to the table- he's a slot receiver. There are multiple guys that can play that role as well as offer some other things. So unless there are some major surprises and if Pettis steps up, I have 7 receivers making the roster: Samuel, Pettis, Aiyuk, Bourne, James, Hurd, and Jennings. Pretty eclectic group with a lot of physicality if everyone brings their A+ game.

I don't think Richie makes it this year either. Wish we could get a 6th or a 7th for him. We need extra picks for next year, and he does have value as a good return guy.

Would keep over Taylor. He's always healthy and produces when he's on the field

Originally posted by ninersrule4:

Would keep over Taylor. He's always healthy and produces when he's on the field

If healthy, Taylor is basically a lock. The coaching staff loves him because he can be trusted to do his job at both WR and PR. His only concern is his health.

Originally posted by ninersrule4:

Would keep over Taylor. He's always healthy and produces when he's on the field

"When he's on the field" there is the problem right there. Aside from his duties as a returner he actually has had very few opportunities in the regular offense. As I noted in another post I think that is pretty indicative of where he fits in the pecking order of receivers. Shanahan said on more than one occasion last year that he was looking for one of his receivers to step up and earn their reps. I think it was most often directed at Pettis but in the end it was Samuel and Bourne who got most of the reps. Taylor proved his worth in his rookie year and apparently in camp last year before he got hurt. James shows up only a few times a season. Not sure how that makes him better than Taylor. He is perhaps a bit more dynamic but he doesn't seem to be as consistent as Taylor, when he is available. Hopefully he'll put the injury bug behind him this year

Originally posted by WildBill:
Richie is gone. Pettis is on notice. Hopefully, he was having the proverbial sophomore jinx season. His father need's to kick him in the pants and say man up and get it done.

Originally posted by BYisGod:
Richie's about to backflip his way off the roster...

We have to remember that these young guys will all get better. These guys absolutely cannot remain the same.

Imagine if the young guys were to make a huge jump this year! These guys should get bigger faster and stronger, and if they do we may be better off then we think.

Shanny's an IDIOT if he keeps Trent over James who's always been healthy, can actually play and be a 1000 yard slot receiver if and when given a chance.. Taylor had his chances and I'm not sure why James would be let go w/o getting a chance

Originally posted by 9moon:
Shanny's an IDIOT if he keeps Trent over James who's always been healthy, can actually play and be a 1000 yard slot receiver if and when given a chance.. Taylor had his chances and I'm not sure why James would be let go w/o getting a chance

Shanahan has been pretty clear about the fact that player's EARN their chances. That was the point of my post above. Kyle was practically begging one of his receivers to step up last year and take the bull by the horns and prove they could be a reliable option in the passing game. It wasn't really until Sanders arrived that Samuel and Bourne started to get their game together and were able to step it up a bit and those three ended up earning almost all of the reps for the last half of the season. Do you honestly think that if James had shown the drive and determination to get 1000 yards from the slot that Shanahan would have kept him on the bench so often? I think not. Taylor proved his worth from the start and earned Jimmy G's trust and Shanahan's. It's unfortunate that he's had so much bad luck with his foot but when he is healthy he is a more consistent and productive option than James

The only reason James is still on the team is because he's a good ST player. Otherwise, he'd been gone already.

Originally posted by mayo49:

The only reason James is still on the team is because he's a good ST player. Otherwise, he'd been gone already.

That's pretty valuable. We lost a Super Bowl cus our guy couldn't hold onto the football. ( we woulda destroyed the patriots) I hope he stays. Also for what it's worth we woulda beat the Patriots had they advanced instead of the ravens. Somtimes the stars don't align

I would cut Bourne. Dude is too inconsistent with the drops. Well he's consistent at dropping balls