240th pick lets plays do talking
Richie James is a rookie seventh-round pick with a chip on his shoulder, but don’t quit on this cliched training-camp-story angle just yet.
Yes, the 49ers’ wide receiver and No. 240 pick wants to prove NFL evaluators wrong after he was drafted right after a long snapper.
But James is different than his disrespected brethren. And that became clear Sunday when he was asked about his NFL debut: In Thursday’s 24-21 preseason-opening win over Dallas, James had a game-winning, 7-yard catch with 18 seconds left.
So what was that moment like, Richie?
“That’s football, baby,” James said. “Play ball. Next game.”
The curt answer was surpris- ing, but suggested James was
able to uncover disrespect in a softball question about a triumphant moment. Later, when asked a follow-up on the topic, James confirmed he wasn’t the type to get all excited about a touchdown catch in preseason garbage time. He’s better than that. “I’ve made plays my whole life, whether its college or high school level,” James said. “It’s football. … You can’t really get too high off one play when you have a whole season ahead of you. If that was the Super Bowl, then wow, I’m celebrating. But it’s just preseason.”
James actually made several plays in his first NFL game. With slot wide receiver Trent Taylor sidelined, James assumed his first-string spot and had a four-catch, 46-yard performance that included a 9-yard catch on 3rd-and-8 on the 49ers’ third play.
It was a continuation of what James did in college. At Middle Tennessee State, he ranked third in the nation in receptions in 2015 (107) and 2016 (105), and became the sixth player in FBS history to have 200 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in a game in 2016.
Adam Peters, the 49ers’ vice president of player personnel, said the team didn’t select James based on his stats in an era in which spread offenses have made video-game numbers commonplace.
“That’s kind of what college football has evolved into — 100-catch seasons aren’t that rare anymore,” Peters said in June. “But his tape: He’s a baller, man. He’s just a football player that makes plays and he’s fearless. And he did it against some of the best competition — big games against SEC teams. So, yeah, to get a guy like that in the seventh round, you’re excited.”
In 2015, in his second college game, James had 10 catches for 95 yards at Alabama, which went 14-1 and won the national title.
So why weren’t NFL teams salivating when he capped his productive career two years later?
The main reason is James’ size (5-foot-9, 185 pounds) and medical file.
Last year, his season ended after five games because of the second broken collarbone of his career, with both injuries to the same shoulder. And he didn’t erase concerns about his ability to handle NFL punishment at the combine: He was the second-lightest among the 44 wide receivers and he had the fewest reps (6) of 225 pounds on the bench press among the 34 wideouts who lifted.
James clearly isn’t worried about absorbing hits. General manager John Lynch, like Peters, has referred to him as “fearless,” and head coach Kyle Shanahan said Sunday that James “was fearless with the ball in his hand” when asked about his debut.
Shanahan, of course, weighed in on the selection of James, and Peters referred to Shanahan’s track record with wideouts when discussing the seventh-round pick.
In 2011, when Shanahan was the offensive coordinator, Washington selected Aldrick Robinson, now a 49ers wide receiver, in the sixth round. In 2014, when Shanahan was in Cleveland, the Browns signed Taylor Gabriel as an undrafted rookie. Last year, the 49ers drafted Trent Taylor in the fifth round.
Those unheralded three have combined for 244 catches and 3,440 yards in 11 NFL seasons.
It’s premature to say James is the next find. At this point, he’s not guaranteed to make the 53-man roster. Pierre Garcon, Marquise Goodwin, Dante Pettis and Taylor are roster locks, and James could be fighting with a group that includes Kendrick Bourne, Aaron Burbridge and Robinson for the last two spots.
Not surprisingly, the wideout who doesn’t celebrate preseason accomplishments said he doesn’t worry about being able to play in the NFL.
“My athletic ability is on tape,” James said. “Whether it’s here or a different team doesn’t matter.”