Chris Harper signed by 49ers!!!

[QuickLightning]

Do you guys think Harper can make the transition to TE. It looks like that is why we are doing this

I think San Francisco will try him as an H-back.

I look at it as a Chris Harper replacement for former Seahawk Cameron Morrah .... who didn't work out.

Or like Delanie Walker... who worked out pretty nicely.

 

[SoHo9erFan]

^^ I think he will stay at WR but be used as a TE type.

Ian Rapoport ‏"Why do #49ers like WR Chris Harper? He's 6-1, 234 and they can use him kinda like they used Delanie Walker last year. Matchup problem."

I think he is going to be a WR/TE/HBack

I'm starting to like this. People on here keep insists the 49ers have trash at WR and this is a desperate attempt to get better at the position, but this line of thought is misinformed. Boldin, Williams, Patton and Moore are capable of carrying the load this season until our other WRs get healthy.

I think the Harper pickup is more of a DWalker replacement than anything else.

 

[Smelly McUgly]

I would have rather kept Harper than Lotulelei if we were keeping prospects, to be honest. It's harder to find and develop possession WRs with big bodies than it is to find really fast LBs with okay instincts that are quick to the ball.

I would be all for cutting a guy like Lotu to keep Harper on our team. I hope we do it. I have patience for a WR project.

 

[Anonymous]

For those of you thinking that secrets of the offensive scheme or specific plays can be divulged from a player leaving the team at this point in the game (no pun intended), you are hugely mistaken. I know it is a thought, so to put it all to rest, I offer this analogy to give some perspective:

The amount of the "playbook" shared with a given draft pick, or prospective player, during OTA's, training camp, and/or in preparation for the pre-season games, is equivalent to the first 8 verses of the book of Genesis, as compared to the entire King James version of the Holy Bible.

About the only information Harbaugh and staff could possibly get out of Harper, is maybe Russell's shoe size.

Non issue.

 

[Marvin49]

I don't think this is for playbooks or anything else, it is for sure to force the hand of our FO. By trying to sign Harper, the 49ers and making us drop someone from our 53, which was obviously valued higher. It will be interesting to see what happens here.

As for TE, that could be as Harper has some of the widest shoulders I have ever seen in a WR. Actually in college he would just go down about 10-15 yards, do a quick curl and the DB could not get through/around him because he is so wide. The problem for them will be whether he can really block like a TE, as they already have Davis and rookie McDonald, so you would think a 3rd TE will only serve as a blocking TE. And also, how many big receivers do they need...Vernon, McDonald, Boldin, Baldwin...geez

Walker couldn't block when he was drafted either. Remains to be seen if Harper can learn.

Sounds like its now official BTW.

 

[Fanatics]

He showed nothing. proFootball Focus had his preseason rating as -2 good for the bottom 20%. I realize it takes longer to develop for most at receiver but they have flashes in the Pre season like Tate did if they stay

The receiving situation is so bad in SF at WR they are dumpster diving. We picked up 2 very good players off waivers from AZ now on our roster. This sort of thing happen all the time. They only difference was he was on our practice squad

It sounds more like they see him as a TE/H-Back in the mold of Delanie Walker, not a WR. He's actually build very similar to Delanie when he came out.

Like I said in my last post, what do you think the 49ers are trying to set up with this move? Due to the fact that they have so many big bodies that go out as a receiver (Boldin, Baldwin, Davis, McDonald)...it seems this might be overkill. Actually most teams attempt to get various types of wideouts, a big body guy, a deep threat, a quick slot type guy, ...

 

[drdiags]

Harper could be a decent Walker-type. The man is thick and physically can stand up to the traffic inside. His last performance was disappointing with the stakes that were on the line, but he can get open and with a fresh start, has a chance to be an impact player. It came down to him or Williams and the Seahawks took the gamble that he would develop on the PS. Seems the 9ers have other plans.

 

[mretrade]

As of today, the #49ers will likely have 16 picks in the 2014 NFL draft. (Could fluctuate based on compensatory picks)

 

[rideaducati]

Baalke can't draft worth a damn on his own, so he is using the guys that draft really well to make his roster better. McLoughan's 2010 draft is why Baalke has been getting all his accolades. Since then, Baalke has not done much. Half of Baalke's draft this season was on guys that won't even be able to play this year because they are already on IR.

 

[rideaducati]

As of today, the #49ers will likely have 16 picks in the 2014 NFL draft. (Could fluctuate based on compensatory picks)

And they'll use half of them on injured players and whiff on the other half as long is Baalke is there.

 

[mretrade]

^^^ Lol. Yeah the winner of the executive of the year award a few years back is horrible lol.

Outside of the 2012 draft, he has been money.

 

[SoHo9erFan]

He showed nothing. proFootball Focus had his preseason rating as -2 good for the bottom 20%. I realize it takes longer to develop for most at receiver but they have flashes in the Pre season like Tate did if they stay

The receiving situation is so bad in SF at WR they are dumpster diving. We picked up 2 very good players off waivers from AZ now on our roster. This sort of thing happen all the time. They only difference was he was on our practice squad

It sounds more like they see him as a TE/H-Back in the mold of Delanie Walker, not a WR. He's actually build very similar to Delanie when he came out.

Like I said in my last post, what do you think the 49ers are trying to set up with this move? Due to the fact that they have so many big bodies that go out as a receiver (Boldin, Baldwin, Davis, McDonald)...it seems this might be overkill. Actually most teams attempt to get various types of wideouts, a big body guy, a deep threat, a quick slot type guy, ...

I think this is Walker's replacement. You mentioned that most 3rd TEs only block, but the 49ers use DLineman and 6th offensive lineman as blocking TEs, so we don't necessarily need a 3rd TE that we can block.

That, and we we have Garret Celek as our 3rd TE who is more of a prototypical TE

 

[Shadowhawk]

Do you guys think Harper can make the transition to TE. It looks like that is why we are doing this

Possibly. He's got the size and speed to be a decent H-back, but he's not the best blocker and he tends to try to catch passes against his body rather than with his hands. You may be able to develop him over time but I wouldn't expect much in the near future. I was excited by his potential but I think all of us were disappointed at his play this preseason.

 

[Marvin49]

He showed nothing. proFootball Focus had his preseason rating as -2 good for the bottom 20%. I realize it takes longer to develop for most at receiver but they have flashes in the Pre season like Tate did if they stay

The receiving situation is so bad in SF at WR they are dumpster diving. We picked up 2 very good players off waivers from AZ now on our roster. This sort of thing happen all the time. They only difference was he was on our practice squad

It sounds more like they see him as a TE/H-Back in the mold of Delanie Walker, not a WR. He's actually build very similar to Delanie when he came out.

Like I said in my last post, what do you think the 49ers are trying to set up with this move? Due to the fact that they have so many big bodies that go out as a receiver (Boldin, Baldwin, Davis, McDonald)...it seems this might be overkill. Actually most teams attempt to get various types of wideouts, a big body guy, a deep threat, a quick slot type guy, ...

I think they love TEs. This is probably about losing Gray to the Browns when they had expected to keep him on the PS. That also explains why they are doing this now instead of through the initial waiver wire...they didn't know yet that they were going to lose him.

Walker wasn't a pure TE...he was a utility player who could do a bit of everything. That's what they were grooming Gray to be and that is probably what the plan is for Harper.

 

[Jville]

Do you guys think Harper can make the transition to TE. It looks like that is why we are doing this

I think San Francisco will try him as an H-back.

I look at it as a Chris Harper replacement for former Seahawk Cameron Morrah .... who didn't work out.

Morrah was also a niner wasn't he?

They signed him during the off season. He pulled up lame on them and the 49er's let him go. Morrah showed a continuation of the same injury pattern he had with Seattle.

 

[TDBinOLY]

Whatever,.....Happy trails Chris, don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.....We'll be fine.

 

[mretrade]

This thread is gonna go 10-15 pages lol

 

[QuickLightning]

Baalke can't draft worth a damn on his own, so he is using the guys that draft really well to make his roster better. McLoughan's 2010 draft is why Baalke has been getting all his accolades. Since then, Baalke has not done much. Half of Baalke's draft this season was on guys that won't even be able to play this year because they are already on IR.

Patton, Lemon-yay, Reid, BJ Daniels, McDonald all look really good. Tank, Lattimore and Dial are all risky picks due to injury, I agree, but we had plenty of draft picks to try them out and see if they can get healthy by next year.

 

[pinksheets]

If the 49ers have room for a guy not good enough for the Seahawks' 53, I'm totally fine with it.

 

[Marvin49]

As of today, the #49ers will likely have 16 picks in the 2014 NFL draft. (Could fluctuate based on compensatory picks)

And they'll use half of them on injured players and whiff on the other half as long is Baalke is there.

LOL!!!!

You can always be counted on. Don't ever change man.