The 49ers should have kept tight end Delanie Walker over Vernon Davis
By Peter Panacy
The San Francisco 49ers host the Tennessee Titans in Week 15, which means a reunion with former Niners tight end Delanie Walker, a player the team should have kept over Vernon Davis.
Let’s rewind to the very beginning of 2013. The San Francisco 49ers have just lost Super Bowl XLVII and have some tough roster choices to make heading into the following season.
Among the most pressing was what to do at tight end.
The Niners had two standout tight ends on their roster, Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker. As Walker was poised to hit free agency that year, then-general manager Trent Baalke elected to go with the higher-profile guy, Davis.
And it was the wrong move.
San Francisco hosts the Tennessee Titans this Sunday, which means Walker will face off against his former squad for only the second time since joining Tennessee in 2013.
All Walker has done since then is produce, posting over 1,000 yards receiving in 2015 and making the Pro Bowl that year and 2016 as well:
| Game | Game | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | Pos | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Lng | R/G | Y/G | Ctch% |
| 2013 | 29 | TEN | TE | 15 | 11 | 86 | 60 | 571 | 9.5 | 6 | 33 | 4.0 | 38.1 | 69.8% |
| 2014 | 30 | TEN | TE | 15 | 14 | 106 | 63 | 890 | 14.1 | 4 | 68 | 4.2 | 59.3 | 59.4% |
| 2015* | 31 | TEN | TE | 15 | 10 | 133 | 94 | 1088 | 11.6 | 6 | 61 | 6.3 | 72.5 | 70.7% |
| 2016* | 32 | TEN | TE | 15 | 10 | 102 | 65 | 800 | 12.3 | 7 | 47 | 4.3 | 53.3 | 63.7% |
| 2017 | 33 | TEN | TE | 13 | 10 | 91 | 63 | 718 | 11.4 | 2 | 42 | 4.8 | 55.2 | 69.2% |
| Care | Care | 172 | 95 | 732 | 468 | 5532 | 11.8 | 33 | 68 | 2.7 | 32.2 | |||
| 7 yr | 7 yr | SFO | 99 | 40 | 214 | 123 | 1465 | 11.9 | 8 | 53 | 1.2 | 14.8 | ||
| 5 yr | 5 yr | TEN | 73 | 55 | 518 | 345 | 4067 | 11.8 | 25 | 68 | 4.7 | 55.7 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/13/2017.
Initially, it looked as if Baalke made the right choice. Davis had 850 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns en route to a Pro Bowl season in 2013. But his production waned drastically after that year, and Davis was eventually traded to the Denver Broncos two seasons later.
And Baalke’s efforts to replace Walker — namely selecting former Rice TE Vance McDonald in Round 2 of the 2013 NFL Draft — failed.
What makes this hurt more is former 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh apparently wanted to keep Walker on the roster, at least according to the tight end, via Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee:
"Honestly, Jim Harbaugh was trying to do basically everything in his power to get the deal done to make me stay. But I don’t think the GM (general manager Trent Baalke) saw the same picture as Jim Harbaugh at that time. So I realized it was time for me to go somewhere else and show everybody how good I can be at the No. 1 spot, and that’s what I’ve been doing so far."
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San Francisco has been paying the price for this gaffe ever since.
Walker, now 33 years old, is the favorite target for Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota. And Walker’s 63 receptions and 718 receiving yards entering Week 15 lead Tennessee’s offense.
Granted, the Niners have a young and promising tight end, George Kittle, in the folds. But it’s safe to say Walker, not Davis, was the player the team should have kept way back in 2013.
Next: Titans vs. 49ers: 5 crucial matchups to watch in Week 15
For Walker, he’ll have a chance to enact his revenge this Sunday when both teams square off at Levi’s Stadium.