Trent Taylor may be the next Wes Welker
Kyle Shanahan's aerial attack has always featured a physically dominant split finish for example Andre Manley, Pierre Garcon or Julio Johnson.
Slot receivers, however, have rarely adopted starring roles in Shanahan's decade of running National football league offenses.
Might that alternation in Bay Area with fifth-round rookie Trent Taylor coming off a surprisingly strong showing in OTAs and minicamp Casey Lawrence Jersey?
Taylor's offensive coordinator at Louisiana Tech, Tony Franklin, believes the 49ers nabbed the steal from the draft within an ultra-productive player who brought the country with 1,803 receiving yards last season, finishing his college career rated fifth in Division I history with 327 receptions.
"Lots of occasions you hear people say, 'This guy may be the next Wes Welker,'" Franklin told Eric Branch from the Bay Area Chronicle. "Every small, white-colored kid's been Wes Welker since Wes Welker grew to become a star. I am suggesting, Trent Taylor is really.Inch
Possibly the finest slot receiver ever, Welker averaged 112 catches more than a six-season span using the Patriots. If Taylor's ceiling is the fact that high, why was he still provided with the 177th pick within the draft?
It comes down lower to measurables. As Branch highlights, Taylor was near the foot of their email list among 53 wide receivers in the 2017 National football league Scouting Combine tall (5-feet-8), weight (181 pounds), hands size (8? inches), arm length (28? inches) and speed (4.63 seconds within the 40-yard dash).
Welker's measurables rated near the foot of the 2004 draft class too. Actually, he went undrafted and it was waived through the Chargers before he become a starter in Miami, Colonial and Denver.
It might be wrongheaded, though, to portray Welker or Taylor as unathletic. Additionally to his football success, Taylor was an exciting-condition point guard in senior high school. As he dabbled in tennis like a senior, he earned it completely towards the condition finals in doubles.
Taylor won't ever beat National football league cornerbacks around the outdoors, but Shanahan believes the rookie's set of skills is custom-designed for success in limited spaces.
"I figured he was nearly as good in the slot role as anybody that people were searching at within the draft," Shanahan described at the end of April. "He really owned that place. He was extremely swift. His body's always under him. He is able to make cuts Bobby Cox Jersey.
"I figured what impressed me probably the most about him aside from the separation ability is the fact that as he ended up getting the ball in the hands, he ran angry and pissed off. She got in the field. He isn't scared to obtain hit. He's a really competitive, violent runner and individuals would be the guys in my experience who help you stay in the game and slowly move the chains."
Shanahan's description reads just like a Welker scouting report from about ten years ago. The premier inside route runner of his generation, Welker consistently beat single coverage with elite short-area quickness while studying defensive keys on a single wave length as his quarterbacks. The gridiron safety blanket was wherever he was said to be once the internal clock of Tom Brady or Peyton Manning struck zero.
Taylor has got the same gift for altering direction without losing speed, boasting the quickest amount of time in the combine's three-cone drill (6.74) and also the third-fastest 20-yard short shuttle (4.01) Carlos Delgado Jersey.
Time will inform if Taylor truly can be a Welker clone, significantly less the following Cole Beasley or Danny Amendola. If he's pushing veteran Jeremy Kerley for enjoying time through the finish of his rookie season, it will likely be fair for 49ers fans to assume the options.