Brandon Lloyd.

[Guttpuppy]

I've been looking at this guy and I can't figure out which way he's gonna go this year. Anyone have any insight on his upcoming season?

I figure Rattay will start and be better for his WRs production but I also see some futility and/or injury giving Smith some PT at some point during the season which could hurt Lloyd's #'s...thoughts?

[Mercer Boy]

Well, most of his best games happened while Rattay was the QB. I think Rattay likes Lloyd and feels he's the best WR option on the field (I'm sure he is).

Your assessment is probably correct...we could have a repeat of last year as far as Rattay goes, and after we fall well into the hole, they'll probably throw Smith in. The question will be who Smith starts to hook up with in training camp and in practice. He might go with Lloyd, but generally the second string guy starts to feel more comfortable with the second string WR's...that could end up being Arnaz Battle if they throw Morton out there to start. So, if the 49ers fall behind and start throwing a bunch, Smith might look to Arnaz in the 3 WR sets and limit the amount of "garbage time" yards Lloyd gets.

I think Lloyd will do well, but only as well as a top WR for a really bad football team. Maybe 800 yards and 6-8 TD's tops?

Have you seen our schedule man? Not looking too pretty. All those NFC East defenses are pretty good on the pass. CHI, ARZ, IND, JAX D's might be tough...only "soft" games look like TEN and HOU (but they are Week 17 ).

Chances are we beat one of those last two teams, get lucky against one of our division opponents and one of the other random teams. 3-13 could be a distinct possibility.

[MadScott]

Truthfully, I'm not so sure he's the most talented WR on the team. He can't get off of the line on a consistent basis which obviously affects the timing of the offense. Hopefully he's improved technique enough this offseason that he overcomes this some. The Morton signing hurts him a bit as well since they play the same postion in the offense. Though he was probably brought in to mentor the WRs more than anything, I think he could steal PT from Lloyd, especially if he struggles at all.

Battle to me seems to be in a bit better situation. Physically he may be their most gifted WR. He's also apparently come into his own enough at the position that they seem more than comfortable with him playing the #2 WR position there.

While I don't know if any 49er WR is going to be a very solid FF candidate for the upcoming year, you could pull a flier on either Lloyd or Battle and follow them. I'm more apt to pull a later flier on Battle as Lloyd will command a higher draft position.

[Dr. Duran Duran]

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Johnnie Morton emerge as the #1 reciever, and that's not saying much. Everyone seems very enamored with Brandon Lloyd because he makes so many incredible catches. What so many seem to forget is that he misses the easy catches. Lloyd certainly has the talent, but he has to do the things that don't make him look like Neo from the Matrix. My guess is, his numbers don't move much at all in either direction.