49ers draft picks: Early Quinton Patton scouting report

Quickly lost amidst the hubbub surrounding the 49ers selection of South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore is that the 49ers selected Louisiana Tech wide receiver Quinton Patton three spots earlier. Wide receiver was not necessarily a position of immediate need, but as Harbaugh so often says, "Iron sharpens iron." The 49ers can always improve, and adding Patton puts the passing game in a position to get that much better.

I did some scouring around the Internet, and came across some useful scouting reports over at our Rams blog, Turf Show Times. The Rams entered this draft looking to improve the weapons around Sam Bradford, so Patton was a guy on the fans' radar. Ryan Van Bibber put some thoughts together on Patton when interest was first leaked. Less than a week later, Tevin Broner added his own scouting report on Patton.

One common theme I'm seeing is that a lot of people expected Patton to go in the first couple of rounds. SB Nation's Dan Kadar provided some quick analysis to RVB:

"Patton has solid size, very good speed," Kadar said. "I'm not as high on his hands as other people. I think he lets the ball into his body too much. He's a good route runner, though. He's sudden in his moves.

"He's a 2nd round player. I don't think he slips out of the top 64."

The Rams fans liked some of the "Danny Amendola things" that Patton could do. He is viewed as a guy that could make for a very solid No. 2 receiver at the NFL level. That would fit in pretty well with a 49ers team that already has a strong presence in Michael Crabtree. The 49ers have a lot of wide receivers to sort through, and one has to wonder how this impacts guys like Mario Manningham, Kyle Williams, and even last year's first round pick, A.J. Jenkins. I would not be at all surprised if the 49ers stick Manningham on the PUP list while they see what Patton can do.

Here are some highlights from last season.

MORE DRAFT COVERAGE

• Day 1 draft grades, Day 2 grades
• Day 1 winners/losers, Day 2 winners/losers
• Day 3 TV, pick info
• 49ers Pre-Draft Roster
• Prospect Scouting Reports
• Consensus Top-400 big board