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49ers Rookie TE Vance McDonald (1 Viewer)

pghrob

Hail to the Chief
Big standout in OTAs.

une 14, 2013

Minicamp notes: Kaepernick's flourish; Daniels' worth; Moore, McDonald stand out

Anyone in show business knows that you always want to end your performance on a high note. That's exactly what the 49ers did in their final minicamp practice Thursday. The team's quarterbacks had been a tad off earlier in the session - an interception here, a bad throw there - until Colin Kaepernick got hot during team drills. When that was over, Jim Harbaugh dropped the curtain on the team's three-day minicamp, 45 minutes before it was scheduled to end.

Here was the sequence:

*Kapernick connected on a deep crossing route to Marlon Moore. Moore caught a similar pass earlier in the session and even caught a few kudos from Harbaugh after practice about how well he performed in minicamp. Bottom line: Don't go to sleep on Moore, whom I wrote about earlier this week.

* Kaepernick deep to tight end Vance McDonald, who made several catches on Thursday and who, like Moore, was cited by Harbaugh after the session. McDonald was particularly adept at leaping, twisting and making catches on balls along the sideline or on passes thrown behind him. This seems to bode quite well for the 49ers, especially when it comes to the red zone.

* Kaepernick to Kassim Osgood.

* Kaepernick deep crossing route to A.J. Jenkins, who made the catch of the day by going low and digging Kaepernick's fireball through traffic off the grass. An official on hand for the practice was on top of the play and quickly rushed in to signal it was a completion.

* Kaepernick to Ricardo Lockette along the sideline.

* Colt McCoy deep down the sideline to McDonald, who had a step on fellow rookie Corey Lemonier.

The 49ers did not have an incompletion in that series until McCoy tried a pass to Jenkins. And, in case you're wondering, it wasn't bad defense but rather really fantastic, pinpoint passing that caused this flurry of completions.

Said Harbaugh: "They were really sharp there. Colin, he's been on it all offseason. And that period especially was outstanding. Saw Vance McDonald on his birthday making some spectacular grabs. We'll have to have more Vance McDonald birthdays. But, yeah he was outstanding. Marlon Moore had a terrific day. And there were others. But, yeah it was highlighted by some really good throws and catches there at the end."

http://blogs.sacbee.com/49ers/archives/2013/06/minicamp-notes-kaepernicks-flourish-daniels-worth-moore-mcdonald-stand-out.html

 
http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/vance-mcdonald?id=2540215

Vance McDonald (TE12)

HT: 6'4" WT: 267LBS.

POSITION: TE

SCHOOL: Rice

ARM LENGTH: 34 3/8"

HANDS: 10 1/8"

Overview

McDonald, the son of a former Texas Longhorns linebacker, did not receive the attention of large collegiate programs out of high school. One reason could be his hometown of Winnie, Texas, which has a population of less than 3,500 people. Even though he comes from a small town, McDonald has big-time talent and displayed plenty of that during Senior Bowl week.

Despite his size and NFL projection, McDonald was mostly used as a slot receiver throughout his career, creating a size and physical mismatch in both the passing and running games. In his first season, McDonald caught 12 passes but missed two games due to an injury. He quickly turned into Rice's top receiving option in 2010, amassing 396 yards and eight touchdowns on 28 receptions. In that same year, McDonald was named the Owls' top receiver after earning the George R. Brown Award. In 2011, McDonald continued his consistent production, catching 43 passes for 452 yards and five touchdowns. His numbers dipped a bit as a senior, collecting 36 catches for 458 yards and two touchdowns. McDonald also finished the season as the team's long snapper.

COMBINE RESULTS

40 YARD DASH: 4.69 SEC

BENCH PRESS: 31 REPS

VERTICAL JUMP: 33.5 INCH

BROAD JUMP: 119.0 INCH

3 CONE DRILL: 7.08 SEC

20 YARD SHUTTLE: 4.53 SEC

60 YARD SHUTTLE: 11.73 SEC

ANALYSIS

Strengths

Used all over the formation but mainly as a slot receiver. Smooth athlete, comfortable in space for someone his size. Engages with good hand placement when blocking, uses body to shield off running lane. Very long arms, flashes using them to his advantage when run blocking. Sticks to the latch even if jolted on first contact. Flashes driving smaller defenders to the ground. Fluid mover after the catch, natural with the ball in his hands, reads upfield blocks and cuts off of them. Plenty of receiver screens, shows patience and strength to finish off runs. Snap-to-whistle player, known to make multiple blocks on the same play. Comfortable with bucket catches. Quickly turns upfield and makes the most of each play. Can make contested catches. Hands catcher away from his body.

Weaknesses

Lacks strength on first contact. Majority of blocking took place in space, no inline, which could show in NFL. At least one drop or bobble per game, occurred even more often at the Senior Bowl. Most occur when he has to adjust or move off his stationary spot. Other times when the ball gets there quickly, unexpected targets. Would like to see him high point more frequently.

NFL Comparison

Todd Heap

Bottom Line

Despite being built like an inline tight end, the majority of McDonald's experience is in the slot. This certainly helps his comfort blocking on the edge and as a receiver who picks up yards after the catch. In fact, McDonald is still learning how to use his frame effectively. Teams could view the Rice product as an inline prospect or as a Joker mismatch, but either way McDonald should be selected on the second day.

 
Luke Willson has better measurables.

Anyways, its tough to get excited about a backup TE, especially when the #1 TE on the team is Vernon Davis.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
#2 TE on a run heavy offense. Don't see much value, particularly in redraft, but stashing him away on a deep roster could do no harm at all.

 
I think all of the 2nd-3rd round rookie TEs this year provide good value at their dynasty draft slot.

McDonald's reputation is that he's a great athlete who doesn't have the best/most consistent hands.

I've read that he has played well this offseason though.

 
I think he's got a decent chance to match or marginally surpass Walker's numbers. I don't think that's very exciting from a fantasy perspective though.

 
Luke Willson has better measurables.

Anyways, its tough to get excited about a backup TE, especially when the #1 TE on the team is Vernon Davis.
Except Vernon Davis is 29 years old and is scheduled to be a FA in 2016. Most dynasty leagues allow 3 taxi years.....so just as Davis is ready to move on McDonald can be promoted and be a weapon for CK for the next 6-8 years.

 
Carl Eller said:
ImTheScientist said:
Luke Willson has better measurables.

Anyways, its tough to get excited about a backup TE, especially when the #1 TE on the team is Vernon Davis.
Except Vernon Davis is 29 years old and is scheduled to be a FA in 2016. Most dynasty leagues allow 3 taxi years.....so just as Davis is ready to move on McDonald can be promoted and be a weapon for CK for the next 6-8 years.
I don't play dynasty, there are more that don't play dynasty than do, so I never speak in terms of dynasty. With that said, the average nfl players career is 3 seasons.

 
Carl Eller said:
ImTheScientist said:
Luke Willson has better measurables.

Anyways, its tough to get excited about a backup TE, especially when the #1 TE on the team is Vernon Davis.
Except Vernon Davis is 29 years old and is scheduled to be a FA in 2016. Most dynasty leagues allow 3 taxi years.....so just as Davis is ready to move on McDonald can be promoted and be a weapon for CK for the next 6-8 years.
I don't play dynasty, there are more that don't play dynasty than do, so I never speak in terms of dynasty. With that said, the average nfl players career is 3 seasons.
Breathe of fresh air, aren't you?

 
Rotoworld:

According to CSN Bay Area, TE Vance McDonald was the "most impressive rookie" in the 49ers' offseason program.
The Sacramento Bee made the same proclamation earlier this month. McDonald usually lined up in the slot at Rice, but was rarely called on to block. If McDonald continues to impress in camp and the preseason, it could embolden the 49ers to give a healthy amount of snaps to Vernon Davis as a receiver.


Source: CSN Bay Area
 

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