Arnaz Battle - 3rd on the Depth Chart? (1 Viewer)

[el centro]

I was just reading this on rotoworld.com:

Arnaz Battle-WR- 49ers May. 5 - 5:29 pm et Arnaz Battle is fully recovered from postseason hand surgery.The Niners' medical staff was initially concerned that screws inserted into Battle's hand might not set properly, but his bones have completely healed. Battle enters the heart of the offseason as a No. 3 receiver.

Which prompted me to look at their depth chart... I CAN'T believe that Lelie is slotted ahead of him on the depth chart! I think Battle offers much more as a receiver than the yet-to-prove-himself Lelie.

 

[derek19]

Its only May.....

 

[zamboni]

I don't think it should be that shocking. First, while Battle is a good player, it's not like he's proven a ton. Lelie has been bad, but he does have a 1000 yard season on his resume. And second, Battle is more of a possession WR, as is the new go-to guy D-Jax. Lelie is more of a spread the field type, which complements D-Jax better. Battle could thrive as a slot receiver.

 

[Holy Schneikes]

I was just reading this on rotoworld.com:

Arnaz Battle-WR- 49ers May. 5 - 5:29 pm et Arnaz Battle is fully recovered from postseason hand surgery.The Niners' medical staff was initially concerned that screws inserted into Battle's hand might not set properly, but his bones have completely healed. Battle enters the heart of the offseason as a No. 3 receiver.

Which prompted me to look at their depth chart... I CAN'T believe that Lelie is slotted ahead of him on the depth chart! I think Battle offers much more as a receiver than the yet-to-prove-himself Lelie.

I agree that Lelie has issues as a receiver, but he does have a 1000 yard season under his belt, whereas this is battle's 5th year in the league and the best he has done is 686/3. Not sure how "yet-to-prove-himself" wouldn't apply at least as much to Battle as it would to Lelie.Lelie also averages about 5 ypc more than Battle over his career and makes a fair amount more I would guess (no details for Battle's contract that I've found).Seems pretty clear SF brought Lelie in to start.

 

[UCSBgerry]

Lelie was brought in to start that is for sure. He is making a decent chuck of money this year which is about $2 million more than Battle is getting. Obviously money doesn't mean squat but it does mean the 9ers are paying him a lot of money and view him as a starter. However, I fully expect Jason Hill to overtake him as a starter half way through the season.

 

[mlball77]

I don't think it should be that shocking. First, while Battle is a good player, it's not like he's proven a ton. Lelie has been bad, but he does have a 1000 yard season on his resume. And second, Battle is more of a possession WR, as is the new go-to guy D-Jax. Lelie is more of a spread the field type, which complements D-Jax better. Battle could thrive as a slot receiver.

 

[Sigmund Bloom]

Lelie was brought in to start that is for sure. He is making a decent chuck of money this year which is about $2 million more than Battle is getting. Obviously money doesn't mean squat but it does mean the 9ers are paying him a lot of money and view him as a starter. However, I fully expect Jason Hill to overtake him as a starter half way through the season.

Lelie is already hurt... It may not even take til halfway through the season.

 

[EBF]

Battle is pretty mediocre. I've compared him to David Givens in the past and I think it's a valid comparison.

Jackson will be the WR1 if healthy. Lelie and Battle will probably be given equal opportunity to earn the WR2 spot. I'd actually favor Battle in that battle, but Lelie will see the field a lot. Hill is the developmental guy who should eventually start in 1-2 years.

 

[Beaumont]

Battle is a pretty good blocker. He is going to get his fair share of time on the field, if not his fair share of targets ...

 

[5Rings]

Battle is a pretty good blocker. He is going to get his fair share of time on the field, if not his fair share of targets ...

I'm guessing Battle will be on the field as much as Lelie.

Its only May, but sposedly the guy that was money in camp was Brandon Williams, last years #3 outta Wisconsin.

Williams

Brandon Williams is attempting to bring a new history to No. 81. The second-year wide receiver dropped jersey No. 17 from last season and sported 81 for the 49ers' weekend minicamp, even though the three previous owners of the number were Terrell Owens, Rashaun Woods and Antonio Bryant.

Most know of Owens' notorious antics. Woods, a former first-round pick, was out of football within two seasons, and Bryant lasted one year before the 49ers released him this offseason.

"It's some good, some bad," said Williams about his uniform number choice. "I'm trying to make 81 my own."

He has gotten off to a great start. Williams was the most standout player in the team's mandatory three-day minicamp that ended Sunday. Last year's third-round pick from Wisconsin dominated team scrimmages in the four practices and probably caught more than 30 passes.

Quarterback Alex Smith attributes Williams' improvement from last year to knowing the offense, his teammates and surroundings better.

Williams, who's fighting for a roster spot after the team signed Ashley Lelie, traded for Darrell Jackson and drafted Washington State player and San Francisco native Jason Hill in the third round last weekend, attributes his improvement to better route-running.

Vice president of player personnel Scot McCloughan said Williams' routes were like "night and day" from a year ago. Williams went a step further.

"Light years," he said.

Better routes come with learning the precision of receivers coach Jerry Sullivan.

"He said sometimes it can take years to learn it," Williams said.

Williams, who's 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds, said the strength training in the offseason program has helped him be more explosive out of his breaks and run with more power, which could help him in his main role as the punt returner.

"I just want to be accountable, be dependable," he said.

 

[The Man Who Met Andy Griffith]

Hill is the developmental guy who should eventually start in 1-2 years.

I think you mean "might". There is no way anyone can say that a third rounder has a > 50% chance of being a starter in 2 years. My guess is that fewer than 20% of third rounder WR's end up starting > 16 games in their careers.It's not like the 49er's won't try to add any more WR talent to their team over the next few years.

Third round WR's from 2002-2006:

Marquise Walker

Cliff Russell

Eric Crouch

Kelley Washington

Nate Burleson

Kevin Curtis

Billy McMullen

Derrick Hamilton

Bernard Berrian

Devard Darling

Courtney Roby

Chris Henry

Brandon Jones

Travis Wilson

Derek Hagan

Brandon Williams

Maurice Stovall

Willie Reid

I see only two decent players there (Curtis & Berrian), although I guess a case could be made for Brandon Jones & Burleson.

 

[toxicbees]

Battle could end up being a WR4 after the season is over. His value has taken a huge hit this offseason. He went from arguably the WR1 down the stretch to WR4. If you factor in Vernon Davis, his value drops even more. But it's still early, we all know how injury prone DJax is. So anything can happen.

The significant news is that the Niners WO group has plenty of depth this year.

 

[Routilla]

Its only May.....

 

[Blue-Kun]

Shouldn't be a big concern this early. I expect him to be slotted at #3 until they remember that last year he was the only one who could consistently catch the damn ball. Once he shows that again Lelie will take a drop most likely. Who knows, I'm just happy we have more than 2 valid WR on our roster for a change.

 

[kensat30]

Battle is easily the 2nd most talented WR on the roster behind Jackson IMO. Lelie and Hill were brought into become the deep threats to stretch the field. Maybe that is why we are pushing Lelie to become our starter, because we need that vertical threat in that offense. Personally, I think we would be better suited to having a slower guy with good hands in the game more often than the faster guy with no hands. Vernon Davis is pretty fast as it is.

Battle is highly underrated in the fantasy community due to his lack of stats, but he does everything pretty well on the field. His blocking has been already mentioned, but his ability in short yardage and 3rd down situations is a big strong point as well. The guy makes tough catches. No to mention that he is versatile and can be used on reverses and WR passes as well due to his QB background.

Bottomline, he is an unsexy possession WR right now in May. But by the end of training camp I think he cracks the starting lineup.

 

[Sleeper 43]

Lelie was brought in to start that is for sure. He is making a decent chuck of money this year which is about $2 million more than Battle is getting. Obviously money doesn't mean squat but it does mean the 9ers are paying him a lot of money and view him as a starter. However, I fully expect Jason Hill to overtake him as a starter half way through the season.

Jason Hill for the win , meet you WR2