Editor's Update 8:27am: Indeed Gary Guyton has officially signed with the Patriots, so I changed the poll and crossed out his info.

First off, big thanks to Saint from Silver and Black Pride for the FanPost with the undrafted free agents signed by the 49ers.  Who says 49ers fans and Raiders fans can't get along?  Well I suppose in the offseason it's easier.  But big thanks nonetheless.

And maybe calling it miracles is a bit overdone.  Plenty of undrafted free agents have made a name for themselves in the NFL and I'm certainly rooting for these guys.  We all want to see the 49ers sign the next Tony Romo, Kurt Warner or Priest Holmes.  While the odds are quite slim, it's still worth checking out who we signed and what kind of impact they might make.  Additionally, I know people have mentioned how they have heard stuff about certain guys, so I want this to be considered a sort of open thread/link dump for info on the undrafted free agents the 49ers appear to have signed.

Robert Jordan, WR, California - Obviously many folks around here are fans of the Golden Bears.  Jordan was wildly overshadowed by Desean Jackson and Lavelle Hawkins.  If Jackson was the sizzle and Hawkins was the steak of the Cal receiving corp, Jordan would be the mashed potatoes (not sure how that analogy works, but whatever).  He had a consistent but quiet regular before exploding for 6 catches, 148 yards and a touchdown in Cal's Armed Forces Bowl victory.  He had a better senior season and career than Josh Morgan AND he hasn't been taken down with pepper spray.  Morgan is a bigger guy, but I'm gonna go on record as saying Jordan makes the team and Morgan does not.

Gary Guyton, OLB, Georgia Tech - Guyton's intriguing because he was projected to actually get drafted somewhere between Round 4-6.   I've checked out some mock drafts and reviews and the general consensus is that he looks to be a super special teams guy, with the upside of being a contributing every down linebacker.   Scout's Inc ranked him 14th among outside linebackers and says:

While he wowed front offices with his impressive combine, it's clear on film that Guyton needs to develop a mean streak and work on his man-to-man cover skills. That said, numbers don't like and there's no question he's got a great deal of upside because of his blend of size, speed and athletic ability. At the very least Guyton projects as an excellent special teams' player and at best he emerges as a productive every-down outside linebacker.

He sounds like Larry Grant but with more every down upside.  Assuming Guyton and Grant both make it to training camp and the preseason, we could see a very interesting battle between them.

Ezra Butler, OLB, Nevada - Like Guyton, Butler was projected to be drafted as well, but for some reason or another, teams passed on him.  Any info would certainly be appreciated by everyone.  Apparently he was suspended for the Wolfpack season opener for "rules violations."  Scout's Inc ranked him 18th among outside linebackers and said:

Butler doesn't have great cover skills and he needs to work on his technique but he has the size, burst and toughness to develop into an effective reserve or adequate starter in a 3-4 scheme so he projects as a mid-to-late round pick.

Throw him in with Guyton and Grant and we might have some decent competition for OLB depth.  I don't see why 2 of the 3 can't make the team.

This is going a little longer than I thought, so the remaining guys are going to be discussed after the jump.

Continue reading this post »