The 49ers drafted Ricky Pearsall who was one of college footballs best route running wide receivers. With Samuel, Aiyuk and JJ already in place we could be on the verge of a shift in offensive philosophy from a run first team into a passing one. If they trust Purdy the way I suspect they do we may see even more empty sets and 4 WR's. Pearsall is a player I think will take off with a quarterback like Purdy and in an offense like Shanahan's. Cowing is another interesting WR that can play outside and might be the downfield speed threat they've been looking for when they drafted Gray. What does this mean for the running game and players like CMC and Juice? Reduced roles on 3rd downs when they need someone to beat man to man coverage I'd imagine. How do you guys see the offense this year?
I believe all of this talk about becoming more of a passing team is over blown. I think the Pearsall and Cowing picks are more about the 25 season than 24. The Shanahans have been run first HC/OC since 1984 or before. I don't see 40 years of run first going out the window. In 25. Deebo and Jennings won't be back and by drafting Pearson and Cowing a year early it will let both players step into the starting lineup without any hiccups. The biggest change I see for 24 is more running out of Purdy both scrambles and called runs.
ReplyDeleteWhat about taking protections out of Brendel's hands and giving Purdy more autonomy to make the adjustments at the LOS?
DeleteYeah, as OC suggests, I don't know whether Shanahan will ever run a pass heavy type of offense, but what I do expect to happen this year is a slight shift towards the pass and more common usage of 3&4 WR packages.
ReplyDeleteHate to say it, but Kittle the past two years hasn't been providing the mismatch in the passing game he did early in his career. I suspect he will still get a lot of snaps, but also come out a bit more than he used to this year. And I expect we'll see a small increase in single back sets.
Also, with Cowing, I just keep thinking how Shanahan used to love guys like Taylor Gabriel, Aldrick Robinson and Travis Benjamin. 3rd/4th WRs that could stretch the field and make plays underneath.
DeleteKittle didn't look healthy in the SB. I wonder if something was going on with him.
DeleteGood point with Gabriel. That seems to be something he hasn't had since maybe Goodwin.
Ritchie James might have been the last slot wr that could run the fade route. Pearsall can execute it to perfection.
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