I'm going to preface with the understanding that this was against NFL Europe competition and not full on NFL competition. However, Marcus Maxwell certainly made a statement heading into training camp this afternoon. The Hamburg Sea Devils defeated the Frankfurt Galaxy 37-28 in World Bowl XV due in large part to Marcus Maxwell's 5 receptions for 127 yards and 2 TDs. Redskins quarterback Casey Bramlet was the game MVP after going 20-27 for 347 yards and 4 TDs, ending the game with a QB rating of 155.5.
While Bramlet was the MVP, Maxwell has certainly helped his cause going into training camp. As we all know, he could very easily be a victim of the numbers crunch. The team has 4 guys in DJax, Lelie, Battle and Hill that are likely entrenched. That leaves no more than 2 WR spots for Maxwell, Jacobs, Gilmore and Williams. The guys that earn those spots will have to show a dedication to not only improving as receivers, but also passionate play on special teams. Jacobs and Gilmore have never really impressed in their short NFL careers. I'm more than willing to go on record as hoping Williams and Maxwell get the two WR spots on the roster. While the World Bowl is not the Super Bowl, it still takes a little something to step up on a relatively big stage and make an impact.
Maxwell made an assortment of catches from big plays for touchdowns to short grabs that netted first downs. Obviously this is a very small sample size, but considering he had a solid season over 11 games, I'm obviously giving him the benefit of the doubt. He has popped up on my radar as a guy to keep track of in training camp and the preseason. If he isn't able to make the 49ers roster, I definitely think he'll latch on somewhere else. We'll see how it plays out.