There are so many new faces in Santa Clara this season that it's hard to project how the San Francisco 49ers will play in 2017.
Embarking on a six-year endeavor to rebuild one of the league's great franchises, general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan doled out a number of contracts to notable offensive additions this offseason, including quarterback Brian Hoyer, fullback Kyle Juszczyk and wide receiver Pierre Garcon.
One acquisition that might be overlooked is Marquise Goodwin, the speedy receiver formerly of the Bills, or so says 49ers leading wideout Jeremy Kerley.
"He's a guy that's been overshadowed in the past a little bit," Kerley said of his new teammate on Friday's edition of NFL Total Access. "A lot of guys just think he's just a deep threat. Working with him for the last two or three months, he's an all-around receiver and he knows what he's doing.
"He's got a lot of passion in the game and he puts in a lot of work at it. So he's definitely a guy that I think everyone could look forward to and he'll have a takeoff season."
Goodwin had an up-and-down career in Buffalo, sandwiching two injury-riddled seasons between two fruitful ones. His latest campaign saw him total a career-high 29 catches on 68 targets and 431 yards and earned him a two-year deal with the Niners.
A track stud while at Texas, Goodwin spent most of last offseason chasing a spot on the U.S. Olympics Team as a long jumper. The wideout came up short, finishing seventh in trials.
This offseason has demanded a different type of trial -- and error -- in Shanahan's offense. Immediately upon signing, Goodwin earned one-to-one comparisons with Taylor Gabriel, another speedster who broke out under Shanahan's wing with the Falcons in 2016 after two fine years in Cleveland. With similar abilities to stretch the field and burn unsuspecting defensive backs, Goodwin and Gabriel are perfect foils to players like Garcon and Mohamed Sanu.
But if Kerley is to be believed, we should expect to see Goodwin all over the field this preseason.
