Thinking outside the box

by norcaldevilasu on Apr 21, 2007 11:26 PM PDT

After reading this article Oakland Trib Article where Vernon Davis suggests he could play WR I started thinking that it might be in the 49ers best interests to draft TE Zach Miller out of ASU. I'll admit that I'm biased about Miller because I attended ASU and have followed his career closely but the more I thought about it the more it made sense. We could use both Miller and Davis at TE when we decide to use the TE set. When we decide to use only one TE we could line up Davis at WR and Miller at TE. The other reason I believe this could be a good idea is others have stated there isn't much difference between the WR's in round 3-7 as those that will be taken in rounds 1-2 so we could use one of our later picks to draft a WR. Does anyone else think this would be an idea worth taking an extra look at?

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.

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Interesting.

I'd worry about Davis' route-running, but if you worked him out of the slot it'd make for some definite match-up problems. If you were to try this I think you'd want a better blocking tight end than Miller, though. God, I don't know what is more striking Scarlett Johansson's voluptuousness or SNL's godawfulness.

by John Morgan @ Niners Nation on Apr 22, 2007 12:10 AM PDT reply actions

SNL

SNL has just gone in the tank. They set the bar so high in the late 90s and into 2000 that even if it was good it'd still be a letdown. But now it just plain stinks. They have maaaaayyyyybbbbeeee one good skit in a given week. Although Peyton was funny at times when he hosted. Gotta love the United Way commercial.

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by David Fucillo on Apr 22, 2007 10:43 AM PDT up reply actions

Interesting

Depending on what kind of offense we would run, this could be completely worthwhile. If you look at the Colts offense, TE Dallas Clark basically plays wide receiver for most of the snaps. He does line up some at TE in one and two TE sets, but he plays out of the slot quite a bit. It creates huge match up problems, as a nickel corner or safety can keep up with him, but don't have the size. Linebackers can muscle him a bit, but they can't run with him.

While Miller is an interesting idea, I think I'd be as interested in Scott Chandler out of Iowa. We should be able to get him near the end of the 3rd round(pick #97) or maybe even in the 4th round(#104). Other options could be Matt Spaeth of Minnesota or Joe Newton of Oregon State in the 5th round.

I definitely think this is an idea worth pursuing.

by gatling on Apr 22, 2007 7:46 AM PDT reply actions

Miller

That's certainly an intriguing option. If we were to take Miller, Vernon Davis could be a receiver type of slash player. Davis could line up with the outside cornerback, in the slot position or right on the line and that creates 3 different types of mismatches for him. I'm a big fan of the 2-TE set (one of multiple reasons I liked have Eric Johnson around last year in spite of his production). In a tight game against a good team, a single mismatch over the course of 60 minutes could be the difference maker.

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by David Fucillo on Apr 22, 2007 10:41 AM PDT reply actions

Agree

While I do agree that it is an intriguing option, I don't know if Nolan is a big fan of the 2TE set. I like the set, but in the (albiet limited) opportunities for Nolan to employ it last season, he didn't.

Now, if the 49ers decide to go three wide, I could definately see Vernon lining up in the slot. I could also see him coming out of the backfield. It would be kind of interesting to see them use him as the 49ers used T.O. during his final years as a 49er.

by sfgfan on Apr 22, 2007 2:32 PM PDT reply actions