The San Francisco 49ers Sign Rookies Jean-Francois and McKillop

The San Francisco 49ers have started signing their rookies and they have started with the easier contracts to get done—the ones for players selected on the second day.

This Thursday the team announced they have signed defensive end Ricky Jean-Francois and inside linebacker Scott McKillop.

Jean-Francois was a little underwhelming overall during his time at LSU, which was part of the reason he became a seventh round pick. He stood out on tape while the team was researching his fellow teammate Tyson Jackson, and they liked what they saw.

As I mentioned on page four of my recent article, San Francisco 49ers 2009 Training Camp Battles to Watch, Jean-Francois has some upside and solid skills.

He also tends to have a big mouth and sometimes rubs even teammates the wrong way. Still, it's not as if Head Coach Mike Singletary hasn't dealt with that before.

Please see: Davis, Vernon.

Rumor has it, Davis has become one of Singletary's favorite players. Could work out the same for Jean-Francois. If anyone can settle him down, it's Singletary.

With Ray McDonald's knee an issue again, Jean-Francois has a shot to produce early, if he can temper his vocalizing and be consistent in his play.

Scott McKillop—a fifth round linebacker from Pittsburgh—is another guy to watch this preseason.

Again—as I touched on in the aforementioned article—McKillop is a guy they expect to contribute early.

While not a great natural athlete, he has great instincts, a non-stop motor and was a very productive player in college. McKillop was also a great team leader and a very hard worker.

At the recent spring practices, McKillop practiced behind Takeo Spikes and Jeff Ulbrich at the TED linebacker position. The team seems to expect him to take over for Spikes, if he can play well. For the foreseeable future, he’ll be fighting with Ulbrich for playing time.

Both players signed four year contracts.

While both players are day two picks, it's unusual for teams to sign draftees this early. For fans of the team, you have to be happy that they are clearly working hard to get all their picks into camp on time.

Often, that can make all the difference in getting quick production from any rookie player. The sooner they are in camp, the sooner they can contribute.