A.J. Jenkins

[TobyTyler]

All this nonsense about 49er first round picks that are worse than Jenkins is just that; nonsense. It is simply unfathomable that a first round pick cannot even crack the day game roster or catch a single pass even with an injury decimated receiving corps. To top it off, a practice squad guy is activated over him in the playoffs.

 

[mem49er]

All this nonsense about 49er first round picks that are worse than Jenkins is just that; nonsense. It is simply unfathomable that a first round pick cannot even crack the day game roster or catch a single pass even with an injury decimated receiving corps. To top it off, a practice squad guy is activated over him in the playoffs.

For accuracy sake; AJ has cracked the roster and seen limited snaps; he just hasn't produced in his few opportunities.

 

[clyde_carbon]

Obviously, no fan knows the real situation and we all (true fans) want him to succeed. When you look at the situation and wonder why he's not starting, especially with the injuries, it boils down to

1) A talent issue

or

2) Work ethic.

His college performance points to some talent and Baalke has not had huge misses so people start wondering about work ethic.

There's the third possibility that maybe Harbaugh prefers to not use rookies unless he HAS to, but it would seem with injuries to MM and KW that that situation is now.

In the end, like I said, only the team really knows but we all wonder....

I don't think it just boils down to those two. I think there's also:

3) Development. Some players just take a little longer to develop in the league than others. When he first got to Illinois he had only 21 receptions his first two years there. Then he started turning it on, catching for 56 his junior year and then 90 his senior year.

4) Scheme/System. He might just not fit our system in its current form. Maybe the coaches need to make adjustments, but they are just worried about other things right now? Or maybe he just doesn't fit our system as much as Baalke thought he would at this point?

 

[mem49er]

I don't think it just boils down to those two. I think there's also:

3) Development. Some players just take a little longer to develop in the league than others. When he first got to Illinois he had only 21 receptions his first two years there. Then he started turning it on, catching for 56 his junior year and then 90 his senior year.

4) Scheme/System. He might just not fit our system in its current form. Maybe the coaches need to make adjustments, but they are just worried about other things right now? Or maybe he just doesn't fit our system as much as Baalke thought he would at this point?

For 3) I'm not talking about coming in and starting and I'm not calling him a bust but to have a 1st rounder that hasn't contributed a single yard to the offense is concerning. That's a WHOLE LOTTA raw.

4) I would hope Harbaalke would not draft a 1st rounder without considering how to use him. I'm not saying restructure the offense around him, I'm saying he can't get 3-5 plays?

 

[clyde_carbon]

For 3) I'm not talking about coming in and starting and I'm not calling him a bust but to have a 1st rounder that hasn't contributed a single yard to the offense is concerning. That's a WHOLE LOTTA raw.

4) I would hope Harbaalke would not draft a 1st rounder without considering how to use him. I'm not saying restructure the offense around him, I'm saying he can't get 3-5 plays?

Like I said, you never know. It could be a combination of the above. I don't think it's work ethic at all. Everything I've read, even going back to his college days, says that he's a hard worker. He's also talented.

 

[mem49er]

Like I said, you never know. It could be a combination of the above. I don't think it's work ethic at all. Everything I've read, even going back to his college days, says that he's a hard worker. He's also talented.

I hope you're right. I HOPE it's just a "Harbaugh would rather redshirt him" sort of thing. Like, as long as we have Crabby and Randy, he'd rather go with the vets.

 

[deep9er]

being a little dissapointed is ok, it is expected. just can't let it get too extreme. we'll see next off season?

 

[TobyTyler]

For accuracy sake; AJ has cracked the roster and seen limited snaps; he just hasn't produced in his few opportunities.

Considering his competition is Ted Ginn and now Chad Hall, it is just pathetic that this guy can't see the field. If there are worse #3 and #4 receivers on any team in the league, I'd like to hear it. And to see this clown out on the field before games catching passes with his ridiculous head phones on just sickens me.

 

[TobyTyler]

For 3) I'm not talking about coming in and starting and I'm not calling him a bust but to have a 1st rounder that hasn't contributed a single yard to the offense is concerning. That's a WHOLE LOTTA raw.
4) I would hope Harbaalke would not draft a 1st rounder without considering how to use him. I'm not saying restructure the offense around him, I'm saying he can't get 3-5 plays?

Ha ha!

 

[TobyTyler]

I hope you're right. I HOPE it's just a "Harbaugh would rather redshirt him" sort of thing. Like, as long as we have Crabby and Randy, he'd rather go with the vets.

That's an awfully expensive red shirt. My thought, at least at this point, is that he just can't play.

 

[CalamityX11]

it wouldn't be so bad had MM and KW remained healthy... but to fill a fans' satisfaction, it would be awesome to see Jenkins produce....

 

[Crimsoncrew]

thats all we can do, remain hopeful? there is no way to defend Jenkins right now.

most had written off Crabtree, so it is possible for Jenkins too.

Many wrote off Crabtree as an impact player. But he had a productive rookie year. The concern with Jenkins at this point isn't whether he'll be an impact player, but whether he'll contribute at all. Even Rashaun Woods' production far outstrips Jenkins', granted on a far less talented team.

 

[threelittleturds]

All this nonsense about 49er first round picks that are worse than Jenkins is just that; nonsense. It is simply unfathomable that a first round pick cannot even crack the day game roster or catch a single pass even with an injury decimated receiving corps. To top it off, a practice squad guy is activated over him in the playoffs.

What? Only one primary WR is injured... Mario, so I wouldn't call this an injury decimated receiving corps. Kyle's injury hurt special teams more than the WR corps. I'm not sure if you know this either but Harbaugh said that the 49ers called that specific play to go to the practice squad guy(Hall) because they felt it was perfect for him.

Anyway, it is disturbing that the #1 pick has zero catches on the year. I still think it is mostly because Crabtree, Mario, and Moss are better than him and then Ginn and Williams (before his injury) were deemed more important in the return game. 49ers don't need 6 WRs because VD and Walker are practically the 2nd and 5th receivers in the offense (Pass Targets). The type of offense the 49ers run and the personnel for most of the year made it so the 49ers didn't even need their #1 pick.

Disappointing that he wasn't good enough to force himself into the lineup after Mario and Kyle went down, but I think if you look at the big picture of what this offense tries to do and look at the pass targets on ESPN, for me it makes me cut him some slack.

I might be wrong about this too, but Harbaugh is a 15 year vet, so I wouldn't be surprised if that experience tends to make him rely more heavily on veteran players instead of just tossing rookies out there to satisfy the fans desire to see how the draft turned out. The NFL can be like any job in the sense that if you've been doing something for 15 years, you're going to ask the guy who has been doing it for say 7 years to do something for you instead of asking the guy who just started last week.

 

[BINGO]

Mel Kiper's regrading of the 2012 NFL draft - ESPN

NFC West​

San Francisco 49ers
Round Pick Position Player College
(1) 30 WR A.J. Jenkins Illinois
(2) 61 RB LaMichael James Oregon
(4) 117 G Joe Looney Wake Forest
(5) 165 LB Darius Fleming Notre Dame
(6) 180 S Trent Robinson Michigan State
(6) 199 C Jason Slowey Western Oregon
(7) 237 LB Cam Johnson Virginia

Post-draft grade: C+

Summary: You can be cynical by looking at this draft class and asking, "Where's the impact?" Then you can be realistic and wonder exactly how the 49ers were going to draft players capable of improving what was already the best roster in the NFL. A.J. Jenkins might have seemed like a reasonable need pick at the time, but are you surprised a young wide receiver wasn't used on a team where Mario Manningham and Randy Moss were added in free agency? And LaMichael James is a major offensive threat, but with Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter already on the roster when he was drafted, there weren't go to be many carries available. James, fittingly, is now playing a key role as the Super Bowl approaches. If you want a memory of a player with big-time talent who didn't play an immediate role on a good team, recall that Ricky Watters was taken by the 49ers in 1991 and didn't see the field as a rookie. It was a really good team. But in his second season, Watters had more than 1,000 yards rushing and started to emerge as a star. After the draft I wrote, "Not a bad draft at all, and you could see their strategy. It's tough to add early impact to a good roster." The Niners didn't see early impact, but given where the team is, we can't say this won't be an impactful draft. Consider it an "incomplete" with the highest compliments.

New grade: Incomplete

 

[MHSL82]

All this nonsense about 49er first round picks that are worse than Jenkins is just that; nonsense. It is simply unfathomable that a first round pick cannot even crack the day game roster or catch a single pass even with an injury decimated receiving corps. To top it off, a practice squad guy is activated over him in the playoffs.

Being activated is not relevant, he had to be activated when Cundiff was cut, by practice squad rules. He had been there longer than the maximum and there was an open roster spot, so they had to activate or cut him, couldn't leave him there.

But I did think Hall getting a snap towards the end of the game and not Jenkins was a choice that showed they weren't planning on using Jenkins. Now, depending on the reason for this choice, my impressions of him would be affected. Nothing positive yet, but won't go extreme negative unless I knew more. I wish he'd be in and contributing, but that doesn't mean not doing so is the extreme worst.

 

[threelittleturds]

Being activated is not relevant, he had to be activated when Cundiff was cut, by practice squad rules. He had been there longer than the maximum and there was an open roster spot, so they had to activate or cut him, couldn't leave him there.

But I did think Hall getting a snap towards the end of the game and not Jenkins was a choice that showed they weren't planning on using Jenkins. Now, depending on the reason for this choice, my impressions of him would be affected. Nothing positive yet, but won't go extreme negative unless I knew more. I wish he'd be in and contributing, but that doesn't mean not doing so is the extreme worst.

As to Hall getting targeted, there is this...

"We had a specific play that we felt Chad would be very good at," Harbaugh said. "And that play got called in the game."

Harbaugh added: "A.J. was ahead of Chad on the depth chart had something happened to Michael (Crabtree) or Randy (Moss)."

Read more here: 49ers Blog and Q&A: Notes: Hall hasn't leap-frogged Jenkins at WR, Harbaugh says

 

[Flyingiguana]

jenkins should be showing something as a slot wr at worst. even rashaun woods who was just showing up to buy his fishing gear showed some ability early on.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

That pick wasn't JUST bad because he was off the team in 2 years and out of the league in 3. That pick was bad because we could have drafted Vince Wilfork. Instead, we traded down and picked up a bunch of picks that busted.

To be fair, Spencer wasn't a bust. He had several good years.

 

[Jikkle]

I don't think it just boils down to those two. I think there's also:

3) Development. Some players just take a little longer to develop in the league than others. When he first got to Illinois he had only 21 receptions his first two years there. Then he started turning it on, catching for 56 his junior year and then 90 his senior year.

4) Scheme/System. He might just not fit our system in its current form. Maybe the coaches need to make adjustments, but they are just worried about other things right now? Or maybe he just doesn't fit our system as much as Baalke thought he would at this point?

Agreed with these two points.

Baalke's M.O. thus far is to guys with high upside but fall because they are raw and aren't quite as polished as other guys. Then puts it on the coaching staff to coach them up. Kaepernick is a prime example of this as there if there was a redraft there is no way he makes it out of the top 5.

And I said earlier in a post I thought the plan all along was CK to start 2013 and grow with Jenkins and LMJ. No way was Jenkins drafted to take advantage of Alex Smith's skill set.

 

[MHSL82]

As to Hall getting targeted, there is this...

Why do you got to always correct me when I'm wrong? Why can't you just let me bask in being right when I'm not? Seriously, you should drop this part of the medical treatment that you and Mem are putting me through. Denial is the best medicine.