Quinton Patton is not exceptionally fast or tall. He didn’t come into the NFL as a touted, can’t-miss prospect or emerge from a national powerhouse college program.
And, over the course of his first three NFL seasons – following his selection by the 49ers in the fourth round of the 2013 draft out of Louisiana Tech – Patton hasn’t made a huge splash.
In his first two seasons, he caught a total of just six passes for 78 yards, with no touchdowns.
But in 2015, following the departure of Michael Crabtree and assorted injuries to the wide-receiver corps, Patton played a much bigger role. He played in all 16 games (starting four) after appearing in just 10 in 2013-2014, caught 30 passes for 394 yards and scored his first NFL TD.
Now, with a wide-open competition at the wide receiver position under new head coach Chip Kelly, Patton believes 2016 could be his best season yet. He could win playing time as both a slot and out-wide receiver and has spent much of the offseason with the first unit, opposite Torrey Smith. But, the competition will be stiff. He’ll be battling Bruce Ellington, former Canadian Football League standout Eric Rogers, Jerome Simpson, sixth-round pick Aaron Burbridge and DeAndre Smelter (who had an injury resdshirt season in 2015), among others.
In new head coach Chip Kelly’s spread offense, the 49ers are expected to often use three- or four-wide receiver sets, so jobs are open.
“There’s a lot of opportunity out there with Coach Kelly coming in with his offense and the offense slinging the ball around,” Patton told a writer for the team’s website recently. “There’s a lot of competition out there to make plays.”
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Patton said he had an “all-right year” in 2015, but needs to continue to improve. If he doesn’t, he could wind up as a roster casualty before the regular-season opener Sept. 12 vs. the Rams.
The analytics website Pro Football Focus grades the Niners as having a glaring weakness at wide receiver, with only Smith graded as a top-notch performer. PFF pointed out that both Patton and Ellington had negative grades for 2015 and have “thus far failed to show the kind of ability required of a starting NFL receiver.”
For Patton, July and August could be his make-or-break time with the 49ers.
