San Francisco 49ers: Untapped Potential Awaits Jimmy Raye

While my phone stays quite active during the regular season, with back and forth texting banter between friends and I as the football games unfold, it's a rare occurrence that a preseason game will elicit any kind of message other than "hope that guy enjoyed training camp."

Of course, every now and then something special, something promising happens, that gives a fan reason to react.

Such was the case in the 2008 preseason, when my phone started blowing up with reactions to a 101-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the San Francisco-San Diego contest.

It wasn't the first time any of us had seen a kickoff taken all the way to the house, but it was probably the first time we'd seen a backup tight end do it.

The star of those preseason heroics that evening was 49ers backup utility man Delanie Walker, a sixth-round draft pick in 2006 that has shown glimpses of immense potential that up to this point has gone mostly untapped.

The arrival this offseason of new 49ers offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye has been met with marked pessimism, mainly due to the lackluster records of the teams for whom he was previously in that position; however, several 49ers stand to see their production climb significantly in 2009 based on Raye's strengths as an offensive coach.

Walker, one of the most versatile players on the team, could be among those who benefits the most from the new offense.

Raye has served in the coordinator capacity on a number of teams in the past, including the (then) Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Oakland. He offenses have been all over the map in regards to overall productivity, with several of his teams posting top-10 finishes in passing, and several others doing the same in rushing.

Never has an offense finished top 10 in both categories under Raye's guidance—in fact they have been mostly dominant in one area and toward the bottom of the league in the other—which shows that Raye has the ability to excel in both the air and on the ground, but vexingly hasn't been able to do so at the same time.

All indications are that either the running backs are in for a big year, or the quarterbacks and tight ends.

Why tight ends and not wide receivers?

The main reason is depth and experience, which the 49ers appear to have more of both at tight end.

Another indication of such is that former Kansas City tight end Tony Gonzalez, a future Hall of Famer, began his development into an elite tight end while playing under Raye with the Chiefs. At the same time, no wide receivers have really had dominant seasons playing for him, a list that includes Randy Moss and Henry Ellard.

Why might Walker see his breakout instead of Vernon Davis?

It's no guarantee that Walker will play a bigger role in this year's offense, especially since the talent pool has gotten deeper with the arrival of rookie Bear Pascoe, but Walker has made himself valuable at a variety of positions while Davis has shown his receiving skills are limited.

A former collegiate wide receiver, Walker was a four-star recruit coming of out Mt. San Antonio Junior College in 2003. He was recruited heavily by some of the Pac-10's elite programs, including USC. Ultimately, he wound up at Central Missouri State after less-than stellar grades kept him out of a top school.

Upon being drafted, two big questions surrounded Walker's arrival:

How good might he have been had he played at USC?

How hard will adapting to the NFL be after playing in Division II?

For his part, Walker did what a top recruit should do when forced to check down to a Division II program, posting 1347 yards on 113 receptions in 20 games for Central Missouri.

Since joining the 49ers, he has been one of the most dependable backups on the team. That he was able to notch 21 receptions as a second-stringer in the abysmal Jim Hostler offense of 2007 shows he could be counted on for a more prominent role in the future.

It's almost a given that Davis, a former first-round pick the 49ers have a lot more invested in, will be the starting tight end this season. But it's not out of reason that Walker won't even need to capture the starting spot to make an impact.

With the 49ers poised to be a run-oriented team, two tight end formations could be featured much more in 2009 than three and four-wide receiver sets.

Along those lines, Walker's past experience in the H-back role gives them more ways to take advantage of his speed and pass catching ability, not just from the line of scrimmage, but out of the backfield.

Davis' inconsistent receiving skills have up to this point been offset by his tremendous blocking ability; with Walker in the mix, he can fill the receiving void while giving the 49ers another big body that serves as both a blocking and pass catching threat.

The way the 49ers are currently built, it looks as though the team would benefit most if Raye's focus is on the passing game. With Frank Gore managing to hit the 1000-yard multiple times already and what looks to be an improved offensive line for 2009, it would probably take a severely inept coordinator to not get decent production on the ground this season.

With a solid rushing attack in place, an improved and focused passing game could finally give Raye the complete offense that has eluded him through most of his career.

He'll have to start by identifying and utilizing all of the talent at his disposal, and Walker is capable of being his secret weapon.