Rookie Mini Camp

[Ray_Dogg]

49ers rookie camp: Reid, McDonald go head-to-head | CSN Bay Area

 

[Flyingiguana]

great another TE who will lead the team in pass deflections

 

[mem49er]

great another TE who will lead the team in pass deflections

Better to cut him now, right?

 

[Dodub]

Sounds like McDonald pretty much owned Reid. That is not a good sign

 

[MHSL82]

Sounds like McDonald pretty much owned Reid. That is not a good sign

But that's good for McDonald.

 

[Dodub]

But that's good for McDonald.

It is good for McDonald but if Reid is expected to be an automatic starter in our secondary, he can't get dominated by a rookie TE.

 

[Dodub]

I understand getting beat every now and again but it sounds as if McDonald consistently beat Reid.

 

[I_am_1z]

I understand getting beat every now and again but it sounds as if McDonald consistently beat Reid.

Goldson couldn't guard him either if he were still here. They're both better suited to play in the box than being relied on for man coverage.

 

[Nastastical]

I understand getting beat every now and again but it sounds as if McDonald consistently beat Reid.

It was one on one pass drills. Last I checked, the offensive player usually always comes out on top in that drill. Don't read too much into it, Reid supposedly look way better yesterday during the team drills.

 

[deep9er]

Sounds like McDonald pretty much owned Reid. That is not a good sign

1. Eric Reid. Reid struggled covering Vance McDonald in one-on-one drills. They faced each other four times. The first time, McDonald telegraphed a short route and Reid punched the pass away. The second time, McDonald ran an intermediate route, cut and made Reid slip and fall. The third time, McDonald faked an intermediate route and ran deep and was wide open, but he dropped the ball. The fourth time, McDonald ran another deep route, beat Reid and caught the pass. Reid surprisingly struggled to recover once McDonald gained separation. To be fair to Reid, the one-on-one drills are set up for the offensive player to win.

not implying Reid gets a 'free pass', but this isn't the time (rookie camp) to get TOO worked up?

 

[dredinis21]

I'm not too worried about Reid. He, by all accounts, has shown to be an extremely hard worker and has already started studying his ass off in order to get this defense down. I am excited that a player the size of McDonald is as good of a route runner as he sounds like in these descriptions of practice. I am excited that Okoye looks to be the natural athlete that he was told to be, having mastered throwing the discus in only two years. I'm excited that Morris and Daniels seem to be showing some serious skills.

Its far too early to be worried about how a player did on the first weekend that said player played with the team.

 

[Jikkle]

Reading these reports I had forgotten Tomsula was an NFL Europe coach so he might be the exact right coach for Okoye.

Like I've said in other threads if we can tap into the potential Okoye has along with Tank that would be a terrifying combo to have a defensive end.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

could patton be another john taylor?

I was re-reading the senior bowl coverage about Patton, and I'm getting more excited about the pick. I didn't like Patton in the second, but in the fourth he was great value. He doesn't impress physically in any one area, but he just seems like one of those guys who is solid across the board. Based on the scouting reports, he reminds me a bit of Robert Woods in that regard, another guy I wasn't all that high on in the second, but Patton went almost 90 picks later. If Patton can catch on in the slot, and Jenkins or Lockette can stake a claim on the outside (this is the biggest question mark, obviously, and may prove crucial to our ability to stretch the field), we could have three nice complementary receivers with Crabtree moving around a bit to exploit matchups.

 

[deep9er]

although we tend to 'slot' Crabtree as a 'possession' receiver, doesn't mean he can't go long.....say once a game? in fact, to keep a CB from 'sitting' on him, he should.

in the larger picture, we shouldn't place the long ball on any one receiver anyway.

at worse case.............as long as we can stretch the field horizontally, out to medium ranges, we'll have enough offense. do wish we could to it vertically too, but ok we didn't force a WR for this purpose.

 

[NinerSickness]

From Cam Innman a couple of days ago (if it hasn't already been posted):

Quinton Patton won the practice, or so it seemed as the 49ers allowed the media to watch Friday’s afternoon session in its entirety to cap the first day of rookie minicamp.

Patton, a fourth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech, showed great speed and swift hands as a wide receiver and punt returner.

Finding a punt return is one of the 49ers’ few needs, considering Ted Ginn Jr. departed as a free agent, Kyle Williams is coming off a knee injury and LaMichael James is inexperienced.

USC product and former Raiders camper Brandon Carswell also excelled as a punt returner, and it’s believed he’s participating on a tryout basis. Others who returned punts were B.J. Daniels, Chuck Jacobs, Greg Wilson and Brodrick Brown.

* * *

Daniels and Nate Montana battled windy conditions and made some erratic throws. Montana, oldest son of 49ers legend Joe Montana, looked comfortable on the field and flung the ball well from his 6-4 frame. Daniels, a seventh-round draft pick, is just 5-11 and will need to show his versatility and ability to run a read-option scheme if he’s to beat out Scott Tolzien (or Colt McCoy) for a No. 3 role.

* * *

Safety Eric Reid, the 49ers’ No. 1 draft pick, sure looks like he can pack a wallop in his 6-1, 213-pound body, even though there were no contact drills.

* * *

Minnesota product MarQueis Gray showed enticing athleticism, but he had an ugly drop as a receiver across the middle.

* * *

Lawrence Okoye, the British Olympic discus thrower attempting football for the first time, constantly was getting tutored by line coach Jim Tomsula. Okoye’s athleticism looks as advertised. He’s a project but an intriguing one who, if he makes the practice squad, will be asked to challenge first-string tackles Joe Staley and Anthony Davis.

* * *

Speaking of Anthony Davis, he came out for the afternoon session to get an up-close look at his older brother Andre, an offensive lineman (6-5, 295) who’s here on a tryout basis.

* * *

Cal product Isi Sofele (5-6) got quite a few carries while Marcus Lattimore sits out with a knee injury (without a knee brace, by the way). Stanford product Alex Debniak, a fullback, ran well and did not tarnish assistant coach Tom Rathman’s old No. 44.

* * *

Tight end Vance McDonald, a second-round draft pick, is a big target (6-4, 267) who made a nice catch across the middle.

 

[NinerSickness]

I have to admit that the more I read about & listen to Lawrence Okoye, the more optimistic (unrealistic?) I get about my expectations for him. I don't remember the last time I saw a rookie who came off as so mature. Maybe Andrew Luck.

I'm a tiny bit worried about a team stealing him if he makes the Practice Squad.

 

[deep9er]

I have to admit that the more I read about & listen to Lawrence Okoye, the more optimistic (unrealistic?) I get about my expectations for him. I don't remember the last time I saw a rookie who came off as so mature. Maybe Andrew Luck.

I'm a tiny bit worried about a team stealing him if he makes the Practice Squad.

we have a good team to start with, so some good players (good potential) will end up there. thats just the way it goes, and you can't 'force' a player on the 53?

guess i'm trying to say it'll be more than Okoye with the potential to be 'stolen'?

 

[imac_21]

we have a good team to start with, so some good players (good potential) will end up there. thats just the way it goes, and you can't 'force' a player on the 53?

guess i'm trying to say it'll be more than Okoye with the potential to be 'stolen'?

You can force a player on the 53 man though. Teams do it all the time to protect them from getting stolen off the PS. Remember, only 46 of the 53 guys dress on game day. That's how we "protected" Jenkins and James for much of last year. They didn't dress on game day, but they weren't on the PS either.

If the team is serious about keeping Okoye (or anyone) but is concerned about him getting plucked off the PS, they put him on the 53 and deactivate him on game day.

Then we don't have to address it unless we have significant injuries.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Even with Tank, we're pretty thin at DT. It's not like Dobbs and Tukuafu were highly regarded prospects. If Okoye looks like he's getting it quickly - and his rugby background may make the transition faster than it would be for someone brand new to the sport - then we should consider keeping him. But he hasn't even played in a contact session, yet. Let's see what happens.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Might want to rein in expectations a bit. From Barrows:

The one-on-one blocking drills between the offensive and defensive lines drew the attention of general manager Trent Baalke. As you would expect, newcomer (to the sport of football) Lawrence Okoye easily was handled by the offensive linemen, mostly Al Netter, who is playing center in this camp.

What's already evident is that Okoye has a gift for getting off the line of scrimmage quickly. That is, the explosion needed by a discus thrower translates to bursting off the line of scrimmage as a defensive lineman. He also tried a spin move that was absurdly good for someone his size who just began practicing football on Friday. What also stands out, however, is that Okoye has long - very long - legs. In fact, the only 49er who can compare in leg length is Alex Boone. The challenge for Okoye and mentor Jim Tomsula will be combining his quickness and innate athletic ability with an understanding of leverage.

Read more here: 49ers Blog and Q&A: Kaepernick watches B.J. Daniels shine; Baalke observes Okoye in action

If Netter is handling him easily, Okoye still has a LOOOOONG way to go. Granted he's got tons of room to improve. We shall see.