A.J. Jenkins

[Rvnight18]

Much more polished? Jenkins routes great routes, is quick out of his cuts, has better hands, and put up better numbers in a horrible offense.

 

[TobyTyler]

Much more polished? Jenkins routes great routes, is quick out of his cuts, has better hands[/B], and put up better numbers in a horrible offense.

Yes. and faster, physically stronger and more athletic as well. He was stopped only by injury. Here's the evaluation of him in today's SFGate.com:

"Owusu has plenty of athletic ability – he posted better pre-draft numbers in the 40-yard dash, vertical jump, broad jump and bench press than the four wide receivers taken in the first round (Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon, Notre Dame’s Michael Floyd and Jenkins). But his college production doesn’t match the first-round quartet and he went undrafted after suffering three concussions in a 13-month span during the final two seasons of his Stanford career"

 

[TobyTyler]

this season?

Yes. I've already predicted that Jenkins will have little to no impact at all in the Niners offense this year.

 

[Bemular]

Yes. I've already predicted that Jenkins will have little to no impact at all in the Niners offense this year.

I've watched every reel on Jenkins I could find, and I'm convinced we took a character project @ 30.

Crabtree showed a lot of mid-late season improvement before shitting himself in the post season. So, our coaches are having an impact and maybe they can pull an NFL game our of Jenkins but I tend to agree with your point of view here.

Obviously Jenkins makes the 53, but, barring injury I would be surprised if he made the 46 as well.

 

[TobyTyler]

I've watched every reel on Jenkins I could find, and I'm convinced we took a character project @ 30.

Crabtree showed a lot of mid-late season improvement before shitting himself in the post season. So, our coaches are having an impact and maybe they can pull an NFL game our of Jenkins but I tend to agree with your point of view here.

Obviously Jenkins makes the 53, but, barring injury I would be surprised if he made the 46 as well.

I think that is exactly what they are hoping for.

 

[Bemular]

I think that is exactly what they are hoping for.

Agreed...I see Jenkins as somewhat of a "roll of the dice" pick. Clearly Baalke & Harbaugh see tremendous upside with this kid.

 

[TobyTyler]

Agreed...I see Jenkins as somewhat of a "roll of the dice" pick. Clearly Baalke & Harbaugh see tremendous upside with this kid.

Yep. And they certainly know what they are getting with Owusu. Harbaugh and the boys know more than me but I see Jenkins as another Ted Ginn, only not as fast.

 

[Bemular]

Yep. And they certainly know what they are getting with Owusu. Harbaugh and the boys know more than me but I see Jenkins as another Ted Ginn, only not as fast.

Ha ha... I'm seeing Jenkins as another Crabtree only faster - which could be a significant difference - we'll know in 3 months.

 

[TobyTyler]

Ha ha... I'm seeing Jenkins as another Crabtree only faster - which could be a significant difference - we'll know in 3 months.

A faster Crabtree is not too bad. I just hope he doesn't have Crabtree's "I'll play when I want to" attitude.

 

[NinerSickness]

Crabtree isn't good enough to have a play-when-I-want-to attitude...

My only reservation with Jenkins isn't his speed; it's his initial burst. I think I'll know if he has enough to get separation from NFL DBs by his first couple of games. I really hope I don't see what I did with Rashaun Woods. Even in college it was clear that guy wasn't quick (or fast) enough to do anything in the NFL. That draft pissed me off so bad!

 

[Bemular]

A faster Crabtree is not too bad. I just hope he doesn't have Crabtree's "I'll play when I want to" attitude.

Interesting how you put that - I think at least one of the reasons we drafted a WR in the 1st (and brought in Manningham) is to curb Crabtree's enthusiasm for such BS. Notice how his foot and neck and "everything" is feeling great this off-season?

I feel your concern Sickness - I get the sense Jenkins will be a boom or bust pick with little to no middle ground (not that we need more "middle ground").

 

[Rvnight18]

When i watch his highlights i see a kid that accounted for over half of the teams receiving yards, half the TDs, and 90 receptions with a QB that is no where close to being great. I see a kid that knows how to run routes. I see a kid that is quick with his cuts. I see a kid that plucks the ball out of the air with his hands and never lets it get to his body. A kid with natural hands. The only concern i have with him is his strength. This kids was the only threat in the passing game. If i know that, you know the other team did as well. Yet he still put up great numbers. And he isnt close to being comparable to crabs. He actually has hands. He actually knows how to run routes and he is fast. Plus he can actually be productive in more roles than just the slot. You are selling a kid because you didnt know him. I am an tOSU fan so i have seen a little of him, and the little i saw i liked. But i admit, i am no scout.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

As for Ginn's hands, as said, I can't say for certain what is going on. Maybe they're just too small. Maybe he simply lacks concentration. For whatever reason, his hands are below average.

I don't know that I agree with this, but what or whom is your benchmark for "average hands" and upon what evidence are you basing this claim?


I agree Crabtree has struggled in the low zone. But those balls are often harder to catch. It is more crowded, and you are more likely to get hit. You have to be more aware of the defenders.

Yes, low-zone passes are among the more difficult to catch, but they are actually less crowded, not more crowded and the receiver rarely is in jeopardy of a big hit.

There are rarely any defenders to be aware of or worried about. The receiver has really only the pass, his body and the ground to contend with. It is because of these facts that the low-zone is one of the safest to throw a pass.


Smith often throws high on short slants, the ball that Crabtree has struggled with the most. I'm not excusing Crabtree. Clearly he needs to work in this area, and on his rapport with Smith. But to me, his struggles in that area speak to concentration more than Ginn's.

Couple thoughts on this. First, I'm not sure high throws to Crabtree isn't partly by design - above the core is best for Mike. Second, some of these high throws could be due to line-of-site issues, it's tough to say without reviewing the reel.

But this I do know, in 2009 Crabtree dropped more slants than any other route. Last season Crabtree caught 8 of 9 slants with one drop. (vs. StL1) Two drops if you include the one vs. N.O. The majority of Crabtree's drops came on the short stuff (Digs, Curls, Crosses, etc.) The high passes from Smith to Crabtree came outside the #'s with a couple seams tossed in as well.

The biggest problem I see now with Crabtree on slants is getting him YAC. As previously mentioned, Crabtree caught 8 of 9 slants but his YAC/Rec was a paltry 3.9.

Crabtree: (8 of 9 for 83yds; 31 YAC - 3.9 YAC/Rec)

By comparison here are Morgan's & Edwards #'s

Morgan: (3 of 3 for 57yds; 38 YAC - 12.7 YAC/Rec + 1TD)
Edwards: (4 of 9 for 58yds; 30 YAC - 7.5 YAC/Rec)

Essentially anything going toward the middle is short YAC stuff for Crabtree.

From what I have seen of Ginn throughout his career, I think he has poor hands. I don't have numbers on that, and I'm not sure that any exist. If you disagree, that's fine.

As for the zones, I misunderstood you. I wasn't sure if you were talking about zones on a person or zones on the field. After going back and forth, I assumed you meant the latter. It seems I was wrong. I honestly don't recall how Crabtree catches the ball when it is low pass. I know he's let a couple high ones go.

As for YAC, I agree it's a problem. I can't quite figure out why Crabtree hasn't been more successful in this area. It was a strength in college. I think he has very good vision for a WR, and great quickness for a guy his size. Some of the problem might be explained by his relatively poor rapport with Smith and the fact that he rarely receives the ball smoothly in stride. And his lack of pure, straight-line speed may also be an issue on slants, where he's not really making a move to the side. But he should still be more effective here. He'll have to be to take the next step.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

I caught this earlier today and wanted to post it. It seems relevant to this thread:

49ers Run Gauntlet at Football School

A few things struck me.

Re: Crabtree, he looks the best of any of our guys running the gauntlet IMO. He's smooth and fluid, catching the ball in stride, away from his body, while moving pretty quickly. This is the sort of thing he should be doing all day - catching a short pass in stride and producing after the catch - but for some reason he's never really flourished in that area.

Manningham seemed to lunge at the ball. He caught all the balls cleanly, but he really broke stride to do it.

Moss looked pretty good, but seemed to be moving at about half speed. That could be in part because he's such a smooth athlete.

Not shocked Rogers has had trouble with drops in the past. He didn't look too clean catching the ball.

Still not Davis' strongest drill. I remember watching him do it at the combine and he was fairly terrible (two drops, as I recall). He caught them all in the one in the video, but wasn't terribly smooth doing it.

Not much to read into here at all, but kind of fun to actually see the guys in action.

 

[Flyingiguana]

guess crabtree is fine when webster isn't humping his leg...

 

[Flyingiguana]

Crabtree isn't good enough to have a play-when-I-want-to attitude...

My only reservation with Jenkins isn't his speed; it's his initial burst. I think I'll know if he has enough to get separation from NFL DBs by his first couple of games. I really hope I don't see what I did with Rashaun Woods. Even in college it was clear that guy wasn't quick (or fast) enough to do anything in the NFL. That draft pissed me off so bad!

i thought woods would do well in the nfl but guess he just wanted to grab a cheque to go fishing. woods should have been execellent in a wco.

 

[NinerSickness]

i thought woods would do well in the nfl but guess he just wanted to grab a cheque to go fishing. woods should have been execellent in a wco.

Arnaz Battle was much faster than Woods even carrying the ball when Woods wasn't.

 

[deep9er]

Yes. I've already predicted that Jenkins will have little to no impact at all in the Niners offense this year.

this part by itself is open for debate, but you said Owusu will be better than Jenkins THIS season. while there's never guarantees on drafted players, can't see it THIS season.

just the fact Jenkins will get a LOT more reps in the off-season. he'll also be prepped for playing time as fast as he can handle it, Owusu will get scraps.

 

[Flyingiguana]

Arnaz Battle was much faster than Woods even carrying the ball when Woods wasn't.

woods was always hampered by injuries when we had him on the roster, but in college woods was 10x better than battle. granted battle was more quick than fast.

 

[TobyTyler]

this part by itself is open for debate, but you said Owusu will be better than Jenkins THIS season. while there's never guarantees on drafted players, can't see it THIS season.

just the fact Jenkins will get a LOT more reps in the off-season. he'll also be prepped for playing time as fast as he can handle it, Owusu will get scraps.

I think Owusu will have a leg up this season because of his familiarity with Harbaugh and with playing in Harbaugh's offense. He is a polished receiver who is faster, stronger and bigger than Jenkins. I think he has better hands as well. If Owusu can stay away from the concussions,admittedly a big if, I think he has a real shot to be a starting receiver in the NFL. I'm shocked that he wasn't drafted but then neither was Victor Cruz who Owusu reminds me of.