4. Marquise Goodwin, wide receiver, San Francisco 49ers
Speed, and a whole lot of it. That’s something first-year 49ers general manager John Lynch and rookie head coach Kyle Shanahan targeted out of the gate in free agency. And in reality, they might have acquired the fastest wide receiver in the NFL.
An Olympic-caliber athlete (literally), Goodwin provides a down-field threat San Francisco thought it had in the aforementioned Torrey Smith. Some might say Goodwin represents fool’s gold due to his lackluster overall numbers and injury-plagued history in Buffalo. That’s fine and dandy. It’s a legitimate concern.
What we do know about Shanahan’s offense is that it enables receivers to run free more than any other offense in the NFL. Add in Goodwin’s all-world speed, and there’s a whole heck of a lot to like about this signing. We’ll just point to what Taylor Gabriel did for the Falcons under then offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan last season.
That’s pretty much the role Goodwin will fill for San Francisco this upcoming season. If he can stay healthy, it will be a major jolt for high-priced free-agent signing Pierre Garcon, who excelled in Shanahan’s system with Washington back in 2013. Remember, that season saw him lead the NFL with 113 catches.
It’s not a coincidence that Washington had a burner in Aldrick Robinson to help keep defenses honest. Oh, we should also note here that the 49ers added Robinson to the mix as well.
That’s the thing. If defenses have to worry about both Goodwin and Robinson down the field, it will put Garcon in one-on-one situations on the outside. Considering Garcon’s large catch radius and ability to make the contested catch, this could very well become a dynamic receiving trio for Brian Hoyer. The addition of Goodwin is the one denominator that could make it work big time.