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The San Francisco 49ers announced their latest rookie contract, as fourth-round pick Quinton Patton has signed a four-year deal. Patton is the sixth draft pick to sign in the last two weeks, leaving five picks remaining. The unsigned players include Eric Reid, Cornellius Carradine, Vance McDonald, Corey Lemonier and Marcus Lattimore.
Patton will be competing with Kyle Williams, Mario Manningham, and last year's first-round pick A.J. Jenkins for playing time. Ricardo Lockette will be in the mix as well, but his best chance to earn a role will be if the 49ers decide to keep six wide receivers and stick Manningham on the PUP list for a while. Patton will make the roster, but it will be interesting to see how much playing time he earns in his first year.
Patton was the first of the 49ers two fourth-round draft picks (128th overall) in this year's draft out of Louisiana Tech University. A team captain in 2012, Patton earned First-Team All-WAC honors in each of his two seasons for the Bulldogs. He finished his Bulldogs career starting all 25 games and ranked seventh in school history in receptions (183), receiving yards (2,594) and third in touchdown receptions (24). He began his collegiate career at Coffeyville Community College prior to transferring to Louisiana Tech.