The San Francisco 49ers have a handful of wide receivers competing for opportunities behind Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith, and undrafted rookie DeAndrew White has stood out in training camp. He has shown up with praise in most practice recaps, and that has led to the media asking some of the veterans about him.
Tramaine Brock was the latest to speak about White. There was chatter yesterday about his comments. He gave him a solid endorsement, but I don't think he was necessarily going all-in on him. Here is a transcript of the latter part of his media session (audio).
On DeAndrew White:
"I like him. I like him to be in the battle with the No. 3 receiver."
On what White does well:
"I feel like everything. Speed, quickness, power. I feel like he got it all."
Any WR sticking out for No. 3 role:
"From my standpoint, nah. I like Jerome [Simpson], Quinton [Patton] and DeAndrew. I like those three, that's where my eyes are and I like all three of them. It's tough, it's going to be tough for the coaches."
On Bruce Ellington if he were healthy:
"Oh yea, Bruce. If Bruce was healthy too, I'd put him in there, too."
I definitely count this as a solid endorsement of the work DeAndrew White has put in since the offseason workout program. I don't think this is shooting down the rest of the wide receivers, but it certainly is a nice little plug.
White gets his next big challenge when he faces the Houston Texans on Saturday. It is always interesting to see rookies getting their first game action, and this Saturday will be no different. We know White will get opportunities, but the question is when in the game.
I don't expect Anquan Boldin to get a lot of playing time, maybe one series at most. I could see Torrey Smith going the full quarter to get more opportunities with Colin Kaepernick. But beyond that, the door is wide open. Bruce Ellington and Dres Anderson will not play, so that is more wide receiver snaps for everybody else.
I could see White coming on in the second and third quarter, and not necessarily the "garbage time" in the fourth quarter.