49ers training camp: 5 differences we’ve seen from Week 1 to Week 2
By Peter Panacy
49ers training camp difference No. 4: Danny Gray is turning a page
Spencer Burford isn’t the only rookie who’s making strides. Selected one round ahead of the offensive lineman, wide receiver Danny Gray had a notably forgettable first week of camp, earning a negative citation from Sports Illustrated’s Grant Cohn that read, “Can’t beat press coverage. Can’t get open short, medium or deep. Can’t catch the ball away from his body. Other than those small issues, he’s great.”
Fast-forward to Week 2, and Cohn’s analysis changed significantly:
"I owe Gray an apology. I completely wrote him off yesterday. I wrote that he couldn’t win short, medium or deep, and he did all three of those things today. He caught a whopping five passes during team drills — before today, he had caught just two passes total. And his final two catches of today were deep grabs up the sideline against second-year cornerback Ambry Thomas."
That particular report doesn’t appear to be a one-off either, as the speedy Gray has now started to find a stride with some regularity.
Danny Gray had multiple steps on two defenders deep and would have had a walk-in touchdown but was overthrown by Brock Purdy
— Brad (@Graham_SFN) August 6, 2022
The rookie’s speed is absolutely apparent out here on the practice field
San Francisco still might use Gray solely as a deep-threat gadget-type weapon in year one, and it’s not likely he’ll receive a lot of targets his rookie year.
However, there were some serious signs he’d be pegged as little more than a back-end-of-the-roster kind of player who’d have less impact than even a gadget role.
While there’s still a long way to go for the former SMU wideout, at least Gray is pointing himself in the right direction.