49ers roster: 3 players who benefit from Deebo Samuel skipping OTAs

No. 1: 49ers wide receiver Danny Gray

If there was one player who stood out the most from the 49ers’ brief period of rookie minicamp, it was their third-round NFL Draft pick, former SMU wide receiver Danny Gray.

Gray is a speedster, having run a 4.33 40-yard time during his NFL Scouting Combine workouts, and that’ll likely be his base-minimum role for the Niners if he’s able to make the 53-man roster, which we should assume will already be the case given his relatively high draft placement.

However, the role could increase a lot during OTAs with Deebo Samuel absent, leading to some increased looks and potentially a few snaps with the first-team unit here and there.

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Typically, especially under Kyle Shanahan, rookies start off their pro-level journeys with the third-team group first, having to prove worthy enough to bump up to the second-stringers before having a shot of sniffing the starting unit.

Gray might now be fast-tracked closer to running with the ones, at least in limited action, and San Francisco will undoubtedly want to see how much his speedy impact will provide some thump for Trey Lance and the rest of the offense.

Simply put, Gray might be the wide receiver to watch during OTAs if Samuel is going to stay away.