Mario Manningham chatted with the media yesterday (listen here) and much like every other new guy who joins Team Harbaugh, he quickly bought into the 49ers mantra of getting better every day. A few days ago, Coach Harbaugh said the team has five starters at wide receiver, and Manningham was right there selling that point.
I feel like if you put any of us in there, we can get the job done. That's the confidence we have and that's the confidence the coaches have in us.
He was also asked about whether having five number one receivers can last given that players want to get their touches and make their impact.
As long as we're winning, nobody will have anything to say. Yeah, we have a bunch of good receivers and there's only one ball, but if we're out there winning, if we have to go out there and run the ball the whole time to win that's perfectly fine with me. I'm all about the team, that's fine.
Given that he has won a Super Bowl ring, I have to think he brings a little bit of authority on this.
Manningham has had a fairly quiet offseason as he looks to claim the number three receiver role. He said he was working at both the X and Z routes. When the team does go three-wide, I would suspect Michael Crabtree moves into the slot with Moss and Manningham split out wide. Kyle WIlliams is also battling for that third receiver role, but it remains to be seen where that competition stands. This coming Friday should give us a little bit better idea of how that is starting to shake out.