49ers Draft: The Case for Mario Manningham

Not since the Debartlo days have the San Francisco 49ers tasted glory.

Joe Montana, Steve Young were quarterbacks that grew into the face of this franchise, and now who has the ball in their hands: Alex Smith. Nowhere near as good as them and fairly inconsistent. Or is it Shawn Hill? Hill, replaced Smith in San Francisco's last games and looked fairly decent. Dare I say it? Maybe even good.

To no one's surprise they plan to draft a wide receiver with their first avaliable pick. So I have decided to put in my two cents. The player that the 49ers should pick with their 29th overall selection in the 2008 NFL Draft is.............Mario Manningham.

Reasons why the Niners should pick Mario Manningham

1. Darrell Jackson the former Seattle Seahawk that the 49ers signed last offseason, was a disappointment to put it nicley only compiling 497 yards with 3 TD's on 46 catches. Arnaz Battle, Jason Hill, Ashlie Lelie, C.J. Brewer, and Dominique Zeigler round out their receiving corps and make them less than stellar. In fact their receiving corps were dreadful as they finished dead last in the NFL in passing yards with 145.8 per game.

2. At 6-0, Mario plays like a wideout that is 6-5 with his good speed and great leaping ability. Mario showed great hands, outstanding route running, and good overall knowledge of the game at the NFL Combine. However Manningham's speed was questionable as it was timed near 4.5 and 4.6 . Because of this development, there is a slight chance that he may be still out there come time for the Niners to pick.

3. Manningham brings physical presence that San Francisco sorely needs. With great instinct and the strength to break tackles, Mario has slowly drawn resemblance to  former 49er wide receiver Terrell Owens. Mario also reminds of Arizona Cardinal receiver Anquan Boldin with his tough physical mentality. That is when he puts some more meat on his bones, but he has the outline. He can make his team better by drawing double teams and giving oppurtunities to the less talented on his team.

Lately, a noticed a trend in San Francisco. They need good WR's to win football games. Evidence : Jerry Rice's Legacy, Craig Taylor and most recently Terrell Owens. They also need a good signal caller, but for the Niners who haven't reached the playoffs since the home loss against the Bucs in 2002, my advice to you: think baby steps.