Earlier today, the San Francisco 49ers announced the signing of wide receiver Mario Manningham to a two year contract. Manningham chatted with the media after the announcement and you can listen to it over at 49ers.com. Manningham kept things fairly brief and to the point, describing himself as a playmaker who could bring a big element to the offense.

Far and away my favorite comment was his mention of the St. Louis Rams. Manningham was asked about his visit with them and he indicated he had been close to signing with the Rams. He made a reference to how they were up and coming, but then corrected himself saying he didn't want to say they were up and coming but they had a good QB and other players. Kind of amusing to me at least.

Now that Manningham is under contract, I had a chance to get a brief scouting report from Ed Valentine of Big Blue View. Head after the jump to check out Ed's thoughts on the newest 49ers receiver.

Manningham is an explosive player. He can make big plays, he can stretch the defense, as you saw in the Super Bowl he can make the difficult, acrobatic catch. He's a terrific weapon and I know he thinks he can be a No. 1 type receiver. He has stepped up and played well whenever the Giants have had injuries, but I'm not convinced he will ever be THAT guy. He can be a very good second guy, however.

The one thing about Manningham is he will drive fans -- and his quarterback -- nuts at times. Even after four years of working with Eli Manning there were far too many times with Manning expected one pass route from Manningham and got something entirely different, resulting in an incompletion or worse. I have to believe Eli knows the offense, so those breakdowns are on Manningham.

He will be a terrific addition to the 49ers attack, but there will be times you will be screaming at your TV wondering what the heck he thinks he's doing.