Marqise Lee was offered a trial at the 49ers recent rookie minicamp, and parlayed that trial into a contract. Lee now joins a WR unit that has a lot of question marks after starting WRs Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.
Lee's 174 career receptions for 2,184 yards and 8 TDs makes him the third most accomplished WR on the 49ers behind only veteran receivers Mohamed Sanu (who likely will struggle to make the 53 after failing to secure himself a long term spot on the roster last season) and speedster Travis Benjamin. Lee is probably the most talented WR on the roster after the starting pair of Samuel and Aiyuk as well, after a standout college career at USC as well as recording two straight seasons (2016 and 2017) of over 55 catches and 700 yards in the NFL while playing for the Jaguars. Those seasons secured Lee a four year extension worth up to $34 million with the Jaguars, though he failed to see beyond two years of that contract as injuries kept him off the field.
And therein lies the problem with Lee - aside from those two seasons, Lee's career (both in college and the NFL) has been constantly beset by injury. In addition to missing all of 2018 and the majority of 2019, Lee missed large parts of both his rookie (2014) and sophomore (2015) seasons. He also played through injuries in 2016 and 2017. And in 2020, Lee opted out due to COVID, meaning Lee has only played in six games (all in 2019) since the 2017 season.
If and when healthy, Lee offers a nice skillset that suits Kyle Shanahan's offense. He's excellent after the catch and is quicker on the field than his combine testing numbers suggest. He's not really a deep threat - he's best in the short to intermediate areas of the field - but he can be effective separating underneath and making plays with the ball in hand. And he can play any of the receiver positions, and provides good blocking ability for a WR, which are big components for Shanahan's offense. Lee also provides potential to help the return game with experience as both a kick and punt returner.
If fully healthy, the fit here is pretty easy to see. But is he the same player he was three to four years ago? This is a low risk, potentially high reward type signing at a position that currently looks pretty thin on experience and reliable options if Samuel or Aiyuk were to get injured. If he shows signs of being the player he was in 2016 and 2017, I wouldn't be surprised to see Lee make the team as the third WR, but he will be defying the odds to do so and it will likely be an uphill battle for him to make the final roster.
The kid isn't a stranger to adversity. It's left him with a great opportunity. He just might have the strength to overcome the odds, climb the hill and not just make the roster but be a contributing factor to getting us back to the Super Bowl. I've got my popcorn ready.
ReplyDeleteScootern
ReplyDeleteYour write up is an accurate assessment of Marqise Lee.
* THE GOOD: "If and when healthy, Lee offers a nice skill set that suits Kyle Shanahan's offense."
* THE BAD: "Lee's career (both in college and the NFL) has been constantly beset by injury."
I'd like to see Lee be successful. He obviously could help the 9ers. But between his age and history of leg injuries, I'm just not too optimistic he can stay healthy. He hasn't played much in the past few years, so his legs should be healed up! We'll see how long they stay that way.
Looking back on it now, it's funny to realize that TREY LANCE was such the OBVIOUS choice. I hate the fact that I didn't listen to my gut, and clearly Fields spent so much wasted energy ... and I mean weeks, and it wasn't pretty!
DeleteEnds up it was the obvious choice from the get go, and my level of excitement in anticipation is on a different level ... a different dimension!
I should have listened to you, GEEP, and I should have stuck with my gut instinct, but there were a couple trusted people around me who thought Mac Jones was actually a viable option.
That last post was me.
DeleteI will say this: Good going for Kyle and John and everyone else involved in the master class lesson on how to run an impossibly air tight, iron clad draft! Thumbs WAY UP!
DeleteKyle and John are on the cusp of hitting the next level ... or next tier, and that tier is top tier of course!
Listening to John Lynch on the Herd with Colin Cowherd, I mean, John Lynch is quickly consolidating not just my favorite GM/team rep, but one of my all-time favorites for any team/sport. What a brilliant hire that sure worked out to be, do good on Kyle also for that.
I'll be honest, up until this draft I was a little concerned that maybe Kyle has a little too much sway with personnel. Sure he's a top HC/play caller-designer, but he needed to share the evaluation/selection process with the top personnel guys. More often than not we see good coaches fail when they try to control every single duty.
However, all of those potential fears have since been put to rest. The Niners current management structure just graduated with a 4.0+ GPA!
Time will tell him if Trey is who he seems to be, but one thing seems certain, the 49ers have given themselves an unbelievably great opportunity at the QB position, and by extension most everywhere else on that field.
The 49ers should be right with Tampa Bay and Rams as NFC co-favorites!
Yeah, Lance always made the most sense to me. As to whether he lives up to the potential we will have to wait and see, but the way he is wired makes him a guy I believe will at least give himself every chance to realise his potential.
Delete49Reasons
DeleteIf you recall, JL & KS made stopping the 9er FO leaks a condition of their employment and until they proved they couldn't be trusted, I believed them. The rest speaks for itself. The 9er FO was as airtight as a submarine.
Based on that trust, I called the talking heads and their so called sources, a bunch of gas bags, that had no knowledge of which QB the 9ers would draft. that at best, they were speculating, or just making it up.
TAKEN AS A WHOLE: * JL & KS took a team with little talent, turned it around and went to a SB. Not that they haven't made mistakes, they're human.
* The experts said because of the salary cap cuts, they couldn't resign their core players! Not only did they, but they added additional talent.
* Last, but not least, they got their QBOTF and added more top talent in the draft.
I believe they've earned our trust.
You certainly nailed it Scooter.
DeleteOf course, no offense Scooter, but you had to play devil's advocate with Mac Jones, and you made some valid points. You for one, but also a very influential friend in my life actually had me convinced that Mac Jones just might be Kyle's guy.
And we all know the rest is history in last few weeks leading up to the draft. Slowly but surely I began to lose my cool, as I slipped down the rabbit hole. It sounds funny but now, but it got a little unhealthy for a stretch, no question about that.
Thankfully, that's in the past and Trey Lance is the future.
However they ended up settling on Trey (and quite frankly I don't really care how they got there anymore), in the end it's all about the dynamic young QB with all of the tools, all of the smarts, and all of the God given ability to take Kyle's offense to entirely new heights!!!!
I cannot wait!!!!!
If he is healthy he will be a fine addition, if...
ReplyDeleteI’ve always liked Lee’ ability to do well on 50/50 passes. He seems to have very good timing, jumping and hand coordination to track the ball. And he plays with a physical mindset that may be a trait that Shanahan and Lynch really liked.
ReplyDeleteHealth, is the big question. If he make it to the 53 roster things could be interesting.
Hurd, James, Scherfield and now Lee: Gotta like the depth.
ReplyDeleteLenoir and Mitchel got noticed.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see the 9ers sign Golden Tate. You can never have to many golden domers.
ReplyDeleteOkay Razor, I am on my way see you on the 25th.
ReplyDeleteDrive safely!
DeleteGood overview of Lee, Scooter.
ReplyDeleteJohn Chapman did a comp on measurables for Trey Sermon against all players on offense. The interesting finding was that the two closest players were not RBs but receivers: Davante Adams and Rashod Bateman (this year's 27th pick by the Ravens).
Shankenstien's building a monster piece by piece.
Another piece of the positionless offense in place.
DeleteMeanwhile, Darius Leonard is seeking a contract with bigger AAV than Bobby Wagner, and Fred Warner is watching.
ReplyDeleteSo Chris Ballard will be paying $40M+ per season to two interior defenders.
Speaking of Ballard, did you folks see the Twitter video of the Colts war room where, despite the blurring, one could see the positions of their two "Blue Card" (blue chip)-rated players in the first round.
The players were Lance and DeVonta Smith.
I didn't see that. Ballard has stated in the past he uses Blue Cards the same way the 49ers use Gold Hats. Not blue chip prospects, but guys they give an elite grade to for character.
DeleteThe 49ers drafted two Gold Hats this year - Lance and Hufanga.
There goes Lee...I would rather have Lee than Bennie Fowler compete for a job. Yikes
ReplyDelete