49ers 2022 NFL Draft class: Stock watch after rookie minicamp
By Peter Panacy
49ers wide receiver Danny Gray (Round 3)
From one third-round selection to another, it’s looking as if former SMU wide receiver Danny Gray is fast becoming the 49ers’ best selection from the 2022 draft so far.
Again, it’s early. Too early. But it is promising.
Both Grant Cohn and Eric Branch had pretty glowing endorsements of Gray, Cohn saying:
"He was the best player on the field, the star of the practice. He got five targets and caught four of them, plus one catch was a 50-yard touchdown. On that play, he ran a deep post route and beat rookie sixth-round pick Tariq Castro-Fields."
Gray also dropped the fifth target, however, which led to Branch describing the rookie’s self-punishment:
"After Danny Gray dropped a deep pass Friday, the San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver dropped to the ground. His penance: 10 push-ups. The self-imposed punishment near the start of practice evidently had the desired effect: The third-round pick had an otherwise solid performance in his on-field NFL debut during the first day of the 49ers’ rookie minicamp."
Have to love the hard work there.
Gray, who ran a 4.33 40-yard time at his NFL Scouting Combine workouts, projects to be the deep-field speed threat the Niners have lacked ever since former wide receiver Marquise Goodwin was on the roster in 2018.
This niche set aside for him, the speedster might wind up being the most immediate-impactful offensive player San Francisco gets from this class.