San Francisco 49ers: Where Is WR Quinton Patton?

It's no secret that the San Francisco 49ers have an overabundance of wide receivers in the 2014 NFL season.

But one of the downsides of this overstock has been the 49ers' lack of use from second-year pro Quinton Patton.

Each week, teams can activate only 46 from their 53-man rosters, meaning that seven players are inactive for each game. The reasons can vary—some are due to injury while others are simply in reserve roles, etc.

Yet the once-promising Louisiana Tech prospect, picked up by the 49ers in Round 4 of the 2013 NFL draft, has yet to be active for any of his team's games thus far in the 2014 season.

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Why has this been the case?

Perhaps there isn't an easy answer to this question. Patton's absence from the active list has not generated the same amount of buzz that fellow second-year pro defensive end Tank Carradine has generated, considering that the latter has been active just once in 2014.

But with Carradine, we have substantial knowledge as to why he has been scantly used. Prior to the regular season, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio stated, via Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area, that Carradine was making too many mental mistakes in spite of his tremendous physical talent.

Therefore it is an easy assumption that these mistakes are still holding Carradine back to a certain degree.

So should we state the same things about Patton?

Before we go any further, let's take a brief trip back to Patton's history with the 49ers.

San Francisco selected Patton with the 128th overall pick in 2013. Patton was widely viewed as an NFL-ready receiver who had made his presence known at Louisiana Tech. His 6'0", 204-pound frame made him an attractive option in the slot for a 49ers team that was lacking at receiver that year.

	Games	Receptions	Yards	Average	Touchdowns
2011	13	79	1,202	15.2	11
2012	12	104	1,392	13.4	13
Total	25	183	2,594	14.2	24

One may recall how he flew himself out to the 49ers' practice facility, only to be turned back by the organization since rookies were not yet allowed to report.

Patton's enthusiasm, as reported by Steve Corkran of the San Jose Mercury News, impressed Jim Harbaugh.

"The fact that he would buy his own ticket, fly out here, just speaks volumes about him," Harbaugh said of Patton. "To be honest with you, he reminds me of me. That's something I would have done. I love it."

Patton did not disappoint during the preseason after being drafted—highlights of which can be viewed in the subsequent video.

But a foot injury hampered Patton's rookie year, limiting him to just six regular-season games. Of those games, Patton was targeted five times and caught three passes for 34 yards.

Perhaps his biggest grab came in San Francisco's final regular-season matchup, when Patton hauled in a pass from Colin Kaepernick, helping set up a game-winning field goal by Phil Dawson over the Arizona Cardinals.

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Let's speed things up to 2014.

As we know, the 49ers revamped and reinforced the receiving corps during the offseason. In addition to Patton, Michael Crabtree and Anquan Boldin, San Francisco added Stevie Johnson, Brandon Lloyd and rookie Bruce Ellington.

That made for a lot of competition, obviously. But one might have speculated that Patton would be a long-term solution for the 49ers at the position.

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After all, Crabtree will be a free agent following 2014, and the ages of Boldin and Lloyd are a factor as well.

But this has not happened, at least not on game day. Patton has yet to be activated, and it is likely that trend will continue barring injury to one of the 49ers' starting wideouts.

Let's take a look at what Patton has facing him.

Crabtree and Boldin are the obvious Nos. 1 and 2 guys, without doubt. Johnson has settled in nicely as the team's slot receiver.

Ellington is the primary return man following the release of LaMichael James earlier this season, so he obviously is retained.

Kassim Osgood offers almost nothing offensively, but his role on special teams is something San Francisco values.

Maiocco reinforces this point by writing:

"

Anquan Boldin, Michael Crabtree, Stevie Johnson and Brandon Lloyd are ahead of Patton on the depth chart as wide receivers. Kassim Osgood does not rank ahead of Patton as a wide receiver, but he ranks as one of the team’s active 46 because of his contributions on special teams. And while Bruce Ellington and Patton are close as receivers, Ellington gets the clear nod because he is the team’s top return man. That leaves Patton as the seventh of seven 49ers wide receivers.

"

With Boldin, Crabtree, Johnson, Osgood and Ellington secure in their respective roles, the only competition lays between Patton and Lloyd.

Lloyd made a strong statement for himself during 49ers camp entering 2014, but has scantly graced the stat sheet during the regular season. He has three receptions for 33 yards despite being targeted 10 times.

Mathew Sumner/Associated Press

But Lloyd's promotion over Patton may signify San Francisco's desire to win now and not focus as much on what needs to happen beyond this season.

This is a possibility argued by David Fucillo of Niners Nation, who writes:

"

But what is Patton's future with the team? The Lloyd addition would seemingly be a "win-now" type of move, so maybe Patton is groomed to get some kind of opportunity next year? Ideally he would have beaten out Lloyd for playing time this year, but that is just not happening.

"

Fucillo makes a great point here. Lloyd is nothing more than a quick solution and certainly not a long-term plan. Perhaps San Francisco is hoping to continue Patton's development so that he can become a worthy option when the 49ers' receiving corps becomes more questionable following 2014.

As of now, we have nothing to show for it.

We should also explore the possibility that Patton did not impress enough during training camp or in San Francisco's week-to-week practices. Maybe he is performing well, but not quite beating out the receivers listed above him on the depth chart.

It is hard to completely grasp what is happening with Patton this season. There is no doubt that this guy has talent—we have seen the flashes at the NFL level already—but there remains the possibility Patton gets left behind in the mix.

The true answer may not reveal itself until next year. As stated, Crabtree may walk, as could Lloyd. Perhaps that is the point where Patton steps in as a bona fide contributor. The answer may reveal itself sooner. We really do not know.

It would be nice to see Patton on the field at some point this season, perhaps if nothing more than to give the second-year pro a chance to gain a little more experience to benefit his impact for San Francisco moving forward.

But that remains a coach's decision and not one of the fans or pundits like myself.

What are your thoughts on Quinton Patton? Be sure to chime in on the comments section and speak your opinion!

All statistics and records courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated.

Peter Panacy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers. Be sure to check out his entire archive on 49ers news, insight and analysis.

Follow him @PeterPanacy on Twitter.