Inside the 49ers: Rookie WR Gray’s elite speed should help in running game
Danny Gray enjoyed the best debut at 49ers rookie minicamp last week.
He made a 20-yard catch along the sideline, then one over the middle, and, as advertised with his third-round draft selection, he went deep for a red zone grab.
Future star? Too early to say.
Future decoy? Absolutely.
The 49ers offense finally has a legitimate speed receiver, offering an idyllic combination with a stronger-armed quarterback in Trey Lance.
That mere threat should prevent defenses from overcrowding the line of scrimmage, and that is important in what could be an even more run-oriented scheme under coach Kyle Shanahan.
Yes, this next edition will display more power runs from its surplus of rushers, plus zone-read carries from Lance, to go along with Shanahan’s signature of outside-zone runs.
Where will Gray fit into that mix?
“I’m going deep. I’m taking the top off the defense,” Gray proudly declared last week at minicamp.
He has the speed to do so as a former Texas high school champion in the 100-meter dash, backed up by a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at the NFL’s scouting combine.
He also comes off as tough, in that he’s willing to get physical with blocking assignments, for the occasional payoff with a targeted pass. “No block, no rock,” Gray said.
“What I like about Danny, I would say his No. 1 trait was speed, but his No. 2 trait was toughness,” Shanahan said on draft weekend. “That’s a rare quality.”
Gray, 23, was about 8 years old when that toughness was ingrained in him from his coach and uncle, Kendrick Baron.
“One game, I came out with a bloody nose,” Gray recalled. “I hit my nose real hard. He just told me, ‘Hey, blow it out. Get back out there. Go be tough. Go be you.’ It’s the mindset every time I touch the field.”
Blow. It. Out.
And blow by the opposition.
The 49ers offense rarely stretched the field vertically under Shanahan, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and a casting call of deep threats.
Marquise Goodwin had a few moments in 2017-18, including an 83-yard touchdown catch for Shanahan’s first win in Week 10 of 2017. Emmanuel Sanders caught a 75-yard bomb amid the 2019 fireworks in New Orleans; that tandem infamously failed to connect in the ensuing Super Bowl. Aldrick Robinson, Richie James Jr. and Travis Benjamin were supposed to dig the long ball, but there wasn’t much to dig.
Enter: Gray.
“I’m elite in open space. I can turn the speed on at any time,” Gray said. “My speed is natural. You see it with everything I do on the field.”
We saw it the first time he was on the 49ers’ practice field Friday, and we’ll see it throughout the upcoming organized team activities, next month’s minicamp and late summer’s training camp.
Once the 49ers open their regular season Sept. 11 at Chicago, Gray won’t be the go-to guy.
That is Deebo Samuel’s task, assuming he and the 49ers mend fences and locate his bank’s routing number.
That is George Kittle’s role, too, assuming he is freed from blocking duties and targeted more in the red zone.
Both of those All-Pros are known for racking up their yards after the catch, and that is also expected from Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings and newcomer Ray-Ray McCloud. Ditto, Gray.
“We pride ourselves on the yards after catch,” general manager John Lynch said after the draft, “and I remember one time calling Kyle and saying, ‘Man, I just threw a screen reel on.’ … He’s got that toughness, so he’s kind of fearless but he can also, he can find his way. We call it slashing. He slashes his way through the defense and that was fun to find a guy with that much speed who also has the other elements.”
However, the 49ers’ offensive catalyst will remain whoever is running the ball, be it Elijah Mitchell, Ty Davis-Price, Jeff Wilson Jr., Trey Sermon, JaMycal Hasty or, um, Samuel.
Gray will make cameos. He will not be an every-down receiver. He won’t need to be. Not this rookie year, at least. That’s OK.
Gray acknowledged he’s naturally a split end. Shanahan’s offense demands versatility, so Gray will get schooled up on other positions, too.
“I love his offense, as a matter of fact,” Gray said. “I love the way he uses Deebo, how he uses all the guys on offense. I’ll fit in pretty good here.”
He fit in nicely for SMU’s air-raid offense. He had 13 touchdown catches in 18 games over two seasons, after totaling 14 touchdown catches in 17 games at Blinn College, three hours south of his native Dallas.
Gray said that junior college route benefitted him, as hard as it was to accept initially.
“It was a tough moment in my life,” Gray said. “I kind of felt like a failure at the time, knowing I was a non-qualifier coming out of high school.
“It hurt me a little bit. I felt I let my mom down, and my family and friends. But it made me a stronger person, it made me a stronger player, and it made me never be satisfied and always be great in what you do.”
Blinn coach Ryan Mahon told the college’s website: “When Danny came to Blinn, you could kind of tell after about week two of his first season that he was something different. (The draft) kind of reiterates everything we thought from the very beginning.”
Greatness his rookie season could be to catch a few passes over 50 yards and draw defenders downfield, as well as block them when needed.
“His skillset translates really well to the NFL game,” Mahon added. “He’s got something that only God can give you in terms of speed, and he’s just gotten bigger and stronger since joining SMU. He’s built up some bulk and really just has the speed and ability to sustain longevity in the NFL.”
Opponents have seen that on film, too. Now it’s time to see it in the 49ers offense — or at least the threat of it.