49ers’ 2019 ‘Who Is?’ series: Quarterback Wilton Speight

The San Francisco 49ers picked up former UCLA quarterback Wilton Speight as a 2019 undrafted free agent, and he has the longest of odds to make the 53-man roster. But what about the practice squad?

There are plenty of head coaches and general managers who feel drafting a quarterback is a must-do each and every year.

Well, the San Francisco 49ers didn’t exactly do that in 2019, but they did add a signal-caller after this year’s NFL Draft, UCLA’s Wilton Speight, as an undrafted free agent.

Speight, 6-foot-6 and 232 pounds, ended up replacing now-Miami Dolphins quarterback Josh Rosen after the former transfered from Michigan early in 2018 and the latter entered that year’s draft.

And while UCLA had numerous offensive problems over the course of the year, which cut into Speight’s overall production, there’s a lot to like about the prospect quarterback.

Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 7/4/2019.

Speight will have a tough time cracking San Francisco’s 53-man roster, of course. The 49ers already have something of a logjam at the position behind the starter, Jimmy Garoppolo. Backups C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens are vying for the No. 2 spot, and head coach Kyle Shanahan probably won’t keep three QBs on his regular-season roster.

With that in mind, what does Speight’s future hold?

Why Wilton Speight Improves in 2019

Speight does have an ideal body size for an NFL-level quarterback. And there are solid other traits, too, which he should look to in order to improve his stock.

Despite having a porous offensive line at UCLA, Speight managed to handle pressure awfully well, showing both poise and quick releases, evidenced in the video below:

Those traits should be well received in Shanahan’s offense, which is predicated on proper timing and hitting open receivers schemed to get into space.

Speight doesn’t seem to have any problem reading those kinds of plays, and quick releases are what made Mullens effective late in 2018, too.

Why Wilton Speight Regresses

While Speight does have good pocket poise and a quick release, he’s not particularly the most accurate. Some of his passes in the above video are well off target, and the windows only get smaller at the NFL level.

He also suffered a back injury early in 2018, which cut into his abilities at UCLA and should be something to be monitored. Additionally, a spat with former 49ers head coach, Jim Harbaugh, at Michigan is something that drew interest in Speight’s transfer to UCLA. It might only be a footnote, but it’s on the rap sheet.

Yet that lack of accuracy should be something of concern. He completed just over 60 percent of passes his final season in college, which won’t reflect too well in transitioning to the pros.

Chances of Making the 49ers’ 53-Man Roster

About the only way Speight hangs around into the regular season would be if there were a slew of injuries to San Francisco’s established signal-callers.

Even then, one would guess the Niners would make moves on either the trade or free-agent markets, relegating Speight back to long-shot status.

But the pending training camp battle between Beathard and Mullens could produce some interest. The winner here could find himself backing up Garoppolo, while the loser is either traded or let go. Or the winner winds up getting traded before Week 1, given his stock value is higher than the loser. What Shanahan does here is anyone’s guess.

Depending on what happens there, it wouldn’t be a shock if the 49ers are penciling Speight in as a possible practice squad addition, not unlike what the team did with Mullens back in 2017.

That’s probably Speight’s best chance to hang around with the team in 2019, and it’s entirely contingent upon what happens between Mullens and Beathard.