Predict which young 49ers wide receiver will catch more passes this season – A.J. Jenkins or Quinton Patton. Also, predict how many catches each receiver will make. Please explain your predictions.

This morning I found some clips of the Patton-Hayden matchup on youtube and I thought you might like to see them.

Patton played better than the stats would suggest.

1. 13:23 First quarter, First down and 10. Colby Cameron underthrows Patton on a backshoulder fade route.

2. 12:25 First quarter, Third and six. Patton runs deep and Hayden commits defensive pass interference.

3. 15:00 Second quarter, Third and two. Cameron throws to Patton at the front pylon and Hayden commits pass interference at the one-yard line.

4. 14:43 Third quarter, First and ten. Cameron rolls out and looks to throw to Patton but Hayden has him covered, so Cameron throws to his second target instead.

5. 11:40 Third quarter, First and ten, backed up on the 2-yard line. From the pistol, Cameron play fakes and throws to Patton, who beats Hayden on a flag route. Gain of 21 yards.

6. 4:36 Third quarter, Second and six. Patton sets back-to-back strong blocks on Hayden to open up two wide receiver screens and set up a touchdown run from the one-yard line.

7. 0:50 Third quarter, First and 10. Patton gains nine yards on a wide receiver screen.

When those players are on the field for the 49ers, their fastest players are the tight end and the quarterback. If the 49ers want more speed, they could replace Gore with LaMichael James, but still, the 49ers’ three fastest offensive players – Davis, Kaepernick and James – would line up in the chaos of the tackle box.

Typically, an offense’s fastest players are split out wide. That’s how Bill Walsh structured his offenses, and that’s how the majority of the NFL structures offense today.

The past two seasons, a key part of Jim Harbaugh’s offensive structure has been a deep-threat split end. First there was Braylon Edwards, then there was Kyle Williams, then there was Mario Manningham and then there was Randy Moss. Harbaugh seemed to want a fast receiver to complement Michael Crabtree – an elite flanker who is not fast and does not threaten a defense deep.

Boldin is not a deep threat. He’s an underneath receiver who turns 33 in October, and he’s slower than Crabtree. Last season, he was most effective lining up in the slot in 11 personnel for the Ravens.

The 49ers haven’t used 11 personnel often the past two seasons – they’ve preferred to use two-wide-receiver or two-tight-end formations, and to save 11 personnel for third-down-and-medium-to-long.

Do you think the Boldin-Crabtree duo will be effective in the 49ers’ 21 personnel packages? Do you think the duo’s lack of speed will negatively impact the 49ers’ rushing attack as opposing safeties creep closer and closer to the line of scrimmage?

Do you think other personnel packages will be more effective than 21 for the 49ers this season, like 12 (one running back, two tight ends) 22 (two running backs, two tight ends) or 11 (one running back, one tight end)? How would you rank those personnel packages?

Do you think rookie tight end Vance McDonald will play more snaps and/or catch more passes than Boldin this season?

Do you think Mario Manningham, Kyle Williams, A.J. Jenkins, Ricardo Lockette or Quinton Patton will establish himself as a deep threat by midseason? Remember, Manningham and Williams tore knee ligaments six months ago and Jenkins didn’t get out of the batter’s box his rookie season. Lockette is big and fast but he has questionable hands and has caught just two passes in his career. Patton runs a 4.48, so he isn’t slow, but he currently is an underneath receiver like Crabtree and Boldin.

Finally, do you think the 49ers’ offense has enough speed, particularly at wide receiver, to be a Super Bowl Championship offense this season? Why or why not?

Denver Broncos: Over/under 12 wins. GC’s pick: UNDER. 11-5. Why: Peyton Manning and Champ Bailey are getting old, and the front office didn’t replace Elvis Dumervil.

Green Bay Packers: Over/under 12 wins. GC’s pick: PUSH. 12-4. Why: Aaron Rodgers should be much more dangerous this season with the threat of the play-action pass. The Packers have had no running game the past few seasons.

San Francisco 49ers: Over/under 11.5 wins. GC’s pick: UNDER. 11-5, maybe 10-6. Why: A very difficult schedule and a questionable secondary. A lot rides on Justin Smith. How good will he be this season? He’s been the team’s MVP the past few seasons, but he turns 34 in September and he’s coming off an elbow surgery.

New England Patriots: Over/under 11.5 wins. GC’s pick: OVER. 12-4. Why: They play in a weak division and they have a relatively tame schedule. Their toughest games are Week 4 @ Atlanta, Week 6 vs. New Orleans and Week 16 @ Baltimore.

Houston Texans: Over/under 11 wins. GC’s pick: UNDER. 10-6. Why: They have a tough schedule and their quarterback, Matt Schaub, seems to be on the decline.

Seattle Seahawks: Over/under 11 wins: GC’s pick: OVER. 12-4. Why: They’re a young team that won 11 games last season, they have no glaring holes on their roster and they significantly improved their team over the offseason with players who should have a big impact right away – Percy Harvin, Cliff Avril, Michael Bennett and Antoine Winfield.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Over/under 10 wins: GC’s pick: PUSH. 10-6. Why: Ben Roethlisberger hasn’t played a full 16-game season since 2008. He can’t stay healthy, and the Steelers backup QBs – Bruce Gradkowski and Landry Jones – do not frighten defenses.

Baltimore Ravens: Over/under 9.5 wins: GC’s pick: OVER: 12-4. Why: Even though they lost seven starters from their defense this offseason, they actually improved the defense with the additions of Matt Elam, Arthur Brown and Elvis Dumervil.

Oakland Raiders: Over/under 5.5 wins: UNDER. 4-12, maybe 5-11. Why: The Raiders seem to have hauled in a quality draft class this offseason. The Raiders need about two more stellar draft hauls in a row before they become a winning team.

Quinton Patton, WR

1-on-1: 3-for-4. (1. Beat Marcus Cooper short 2. Beat Cooper short again but the throw was behind Patton 3. Could not beat Brodrick Brown deep 4. Beat Cooper short)

7-on-7: 5 targets, 4 catches (1. Beat Darryl Morris over the middle for 15 yards 2. Beat Morris short 3. Could not beat Morris deep 4. Beat Wopamo Osaisai short 5. Beat Darryl Morris on the right sideline for 15 yards)

11-on-11: 3 targets, 1 catch. (1. Beat Lowell Rose short but Daniels’ pass was behind Patton and Rose picked it off 2. Could not beat Morris deep 3. Beat Cooper short)

Vance McDonald, TE

1-on-1: 5-for-8. (1. Dropped a short pass 2.Beat Michael Thomas over the middle 3. Beat Michael Thomas on a jump ball next to the sideline 4. Beat Eric Reid over the middle 5. Short pass broken up by Reid 6. Beat Reid short 7. Beat Reid deep but dropped it 8. Beat Reid deep)

7-on-7: 4 targets, 2 catches (1. Caught short pass 2. Overthrown deep 3. Caught short pass at his ankles 4. Drops short pass)

11-on-11: 0 targets

Eric Reid. FS

1-on-1: 1-for-7. (1. Beaten short by MarQueis Gray but Daniels’ pass was low 2. Beaten inside by McDonald 3. Beaten deep by Gray but Daniels overthrows the pass 4. Knocks away short pass intended for McDonald 5. Slips, beaten short by McDonald 6. Beaten deep by McDonald but McDonald drops it 7. Beaten deep by McDonald, McDonald doesn’t drop it)

7-on-7: 0 targets

11-on-11: 0 targets

Marcus Cooper, LCB

1-on-1: 0-for-3 (1. Beaten short by Patton 2. Beaten over the middle by Patton but the pass was thrown behind him and it fell incomplete 3. Beaten over the middle by Patton)

7-on-7: 2 targets, 1 catch. (1. Beaten short by Brandon Carswell 2. Broke up short pass intended for Carswell)

11-on-11: 4 targets, 2 catches. (1. Beaten deep down the middle of the field by Greg Wilson 2. Beaten short by Carswell who dropped the pass 3. Beaten deep down the left side line by Carswell who dropped the pass 4. Beaten short over the middle by Patton)

Darryl Morris, LCB

1-on-1: 1-for-4 (1. Intercepted short pass after Greg Wilson slipped 2. Beaten short by Wilson but Nate Montana’s throw was low and incomplete 3. Beaten short by Carswell 4. Slipped, beaten on a double move by Carswell)

7-on-7: 5 targets, 3 catches. (1. Beaten over the middle by Patton 2. Didn’t allow Patton to win deep 3. Beaten deep down the sideline by Carswell 4. Beaten on the right sideline by Patton 5. Knocked away deep pass intended for Wilson)

11-on-11: 1 target, 0 catches. (1. Outran Patton deep and the pass fell incomplete)

THE GOOD

1. B.J. Daniels. On Friday, Daniels couldn’t seem to throw straight. On Saturday, he couldn’t miss. And he wasn’t just dinking and dunking, either. Daniels was firing bullets downfield and hitting his receivers in stride. When he couldn’t find a receiver, he scrambled instead of checking down, and when he scrambled, defenders couldn’t touch him. He had two touchdown runs that I saw. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought I was watching Russell Wilson play.

2. Corey Lemonier. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio spent 20 minutes staring at Lemonier during positional drills. Lemonier warmed up with the linebackers, like Aldon Smith did when he was first drafted (Aldon Smith warms up with the defensive linemen these days.) When Aldon Smith did the linebacker drills as a rookie, he was no good at them. Vic Fangio had to spend a long time teaching him how to lock out the sled/blocker and rip away. This did not come natural to Aldon, but it comes natural to Lemonier. He was the quickest and most explosive linebacker in the sled drill. It looked like he’d been doing the drills his whole life, even though he was a defensive end in college. On the field, he looked confident dropping into coverage and he had good hands. He’s clearly a top candidate to succeed Ahmad Brooks at strong side linebacker one day.

THE NOT-SO-GOOD

1. Eric Reid. Reid struggled covering Vance McDonald in one-on-one drills. They faced each other four times. The first time, McDonald telegraphed a short route and Reid punched the pass away. The second time, McDonald ran an intermediate route, cut and made Reid slip and fall. The third time, McDonald faked an intermediate route and ran deep and was wide open, but he dropped the ball. The fourth time, McDonald ran another deep route, beat Reid and caught the pass. Reid surprisingly struggled to recover once McDonald gained separation. To be fair to Reid, the one-on-one drills are set up for the offensive player to win.

2. Vance McDonald. For the second day in a row, McDonald had no problem getting open. He’s shifty like a slot receiver, and he regularly fools defensive backs and linebackers when he cuts. Reid could not keep up with him today. But McDonald couldn’t hang on to the ball – he caught three passes and dropped three. He had an issue dropping passes in college and at the Combine, as well. This is strange because his hands are huge. So his issue either is his concentration or his eye sight. Whatever it is, he should be able to fix it. Vernon Davis has improved his hands dramatically during his seven seasons on the 49ers.

3. MarQueis Gray. Like McDonald, Gray is an H-back who’s a natural at getting open. But Gray dropped four passes today. Delanie Walker was known for having bad hands, but I never saw him drop four passes in a practice. Gray needs to improve his hands if he’s going to have an NFL career, but there is hope for him. He made one of the best catches of the day, hauling in a pass thrown to his ankles. Also, 49ers’ backup tight end Garrett Celek dropped a ton of passes in the mini-camps and OTAs last year, but he improved his hands in training camp and made the team.

Q: What’s your first impression of the 49ers’ play book?

DANIELS: It looks like a dictionary. There’s a lot of good stuff in there. It’s good reads. I’m doing whatever I can to make sure I get it done.

Q: Are there concepts in there that you did in college?

DANIELS: Yeah. There are similarities. Football is football. The only thing I’m trying to learn now is the terminology. It’s like speak a whole other language. That’s what I’m trying to adjust to right now.

Q: How many snaps did you take under center in your college days?

DANIELS: I do not know the number, but it was enough to learn how to take snaps under center.

Q: Did you return punts as South Florida?

DANIELS: No, quarterback is the only thing I did at USF.

Q: How did you feel doing that in practice yesterday?

DANIELS: It’s fine. Even in the shotgun, you’ve got to be able to field the ball. I’m comfortable with my hands. Anything I can do to help out, that’s what I’m trying to do.

Q: Have you gotten a feel for Jim Harbaugh yet?

DANIELS: I know he’s a fiery guy. He’s passionate about what he does. I’m very excited to have the opportunity to be out here.

Q: What has he been telling you and teaching you so far?

DANIELS: Just have a sense of urgency in the things that I do. That’s one of the biggest things I’m trying to accomplish right now.

Q: Any of these wide receivers catch your eye?

DANIELS: All of them. All of them are doing some really good thing. Right now I’m just trying to make sure I know how to tie my shoes.

Q: Is it tough to play with urgency if you don’t know the playbook?

DANIELS: It can be, but that’s my job. I have to take the opportunity to study and watch film. That’s what a quarterback is supposed to do.

Q: Your first college start you beat Florida State?

DANIELS: Yes, sir.

Q: You were 19 years old?

DANIELS: Not yet. I was 18.

Q: And that was in Tallahassee?

DANIELS: Yes, sir.

Q: What was that experience like for you? Were you nervous?

DANIELS: It was just the luck of the draw. I had the opportunity to start in the hometown that I’m from. I was very comfortable in the environment because I had been to many Florida State games before. I just wasn’t sitting in the stands any more.

Q: Are you comfortable in pressure situations?

DANIELS: Yes. I’m a competitor. I like to prove people wrong and do what I have to do to be successful. It’s more of an inner thing.

Q: Did Florida State recruit you at all?

DANIELS: Nope. It’s five years later and I’m still answering that question (laughs).

Q: Was it satisfying to beat them given that they didn’t recruit you?

DANIELS: It was at the time, but right now I’m on a whole different level, and like I said, I’m just trying to learn how to tie my shoes right now.

Q: Well your shoes are untied now.

DANIELS: They’re still untied! (Laughs).

THE GOOD

1. Vance McDonald, TE. The rookie tight end had the best practice of the day. He dropped the first pass thrown to him – it was a strike from B.J. Daniels – but after that miscue McDonald caught everything. During one-on-one drills, he went against Michael Thomas and beat him to the outside on an intermediate route. Daniels underthrew the pass – it was going right to Thomas. McDonald stopped, reached back over Thomas’ head and snatched the ball away from Thomas’ hands. Later, McDonald went against Eric Reid one-on-one. McDonald ran up the seam, faked a cut to the outside and cut back inside, completely fooling Reid. Daniels easily hit McDonald for the completion.

2. Quinton Patton, possession WR/PR. He started at split end, then moved to flanker and eventually played from the slot. He was effective on underneath and intermediate routes, creating separation with explosive cuts and attacking the ball in the air with his hands. Patton also looked natural catching punts and evading defenders on the punt return.

3. Lawrence Okoye, DL. Jim Tomsula was leading “redirection” shuffling exercises with the rookie defensive linemen – Dan Farr from Toledo, Michael Purcell from Wyoming and Lawrence Okoye. Tank Carradine and Quinton Dial did not participate, but they observed. Tomsula had Farr, Purcell and Okoye shuffle back and forth while they crouched close to the ground. The goal is to stay low and keep your feet underneath you while moving them as quickly as possible. Okoye clearly was the best at his drill. His feet are surprisingly quick for man who weighs more than 300 pounds. Okoye seemed to get tired during the middle of practice, but at the end of practice something interesting happened. All the players had to do six reps of jumping onto a box and then jumping again onto a huge mat – the kind high jumpers use. On Okoye’s first rep, he exploded onto the box, but then he hesitated and his second jump was no good. “You’re an Olympian!” Tomsula said to him. “You can do better! Justin Smith gets six feet in the air on his second jump.” Next time, Okoye jumped seven feet in the air before he hit the mat. “That’s what we’re paying for!” Tomsula said.

4. Marcus Lattimore, RB. After practice, Lattimore jogged off the field. It was encouraging to see him jog.

THE NOT-SO-GOOD

1. B.J. Daniels, QB/PR.  He threw three passes in 11-on-11 drills and all three were incomplete. One was an interception to Lowell Rose. As Daniels moved on to one-on-ones and seven-on-sevens, it was apparent he was struggling with his accuracy. He tended to miss short throws low and behind receivers, and he tended to overthrow intermediate and long passes. But his passes had a lot of zip, and some were on the money. It’s possible he’s an accurate passer who just had an inconsistent day. As a punt returner, he dropped his first two punts, but he seemed to get more comfortable and confident as practice went on.

2. Quinton Patton, deep threat WR. He had a good practice, but he couldn’t beat defensive backs deep. Three times he tried to run deep routes, and all three times the cornerback ran step-for-step with him down the field and the pass fell incomplete. Once, Darryl Morris actually had Patton beat by a couple of steps, but luckily for Patton, Daniels overthrew him by 10 yards. Perhaps Patton will become an NFL deep threat as he improves his conditioning and gains experience.

3. Luke Marquardt, OT. He had a boot on his right foot and he was on crutches. He broke his foot before the season opener his senior year at Azusa Pacific and he had follow-up surgery about a month ago. He watched practice while sitting on a golf cart.

Q: How did they look out there today?

HARBAUGH: Good. Excitement is in the air. Our team got bigger. There are more of us. These guys look really good. They look like football players.

Q: What kind of work will Lawrence Okoye do?

HARBAUGH: Everybody is starting with their first step. He’s right in there – defensive line, special teams right now. We’ve all got a long road ahead, a tough road of hope. We’ve got to be patient.

Q: How concerned are you that he’s never played a down of football in his life?

HARBAUGH: I’m excited about it. I know our coaches are. He was a rugby player until he was 18 years old, and then he just took up the discus. Two years later he’s throwing in the Olympics. That bodes well. That was a big shift in what he did. He picked that up and did very nicely.

Q: Have you sat down with Marcus Lattimore yet and talked about what your expectations are for him this year?

HARBAUGH: We did the extensive medical yesterday. That’s the first step of the process. Everything looks good structurally with all the guys we drafted. The ACL looks really good for Marcus. We’ve had to take a step back in terms of some of the cutting because we want the inside of the knee, the lateral side of the knee to heal fully. We’re good. We’ve talked. Our trainers are excited.

Q: Have you broached the topic with him of him not playing this season?

HARBAUGH: I don’t think it’s necessary to go through those hypotheticals. We’re very early in the process.

Q: Is Tank Carradine further along in his rehab than Lattimore?

HARBAUGH: Tank is further along, but they’re in the same process.

Q: What’s the biggest message you’ve gotten from Harbaugh so far?

REID: Just get on the field. I’ve had my plays, I’ve studied, so now it’s just doing it, make my checks, do my job. Play football.

Q: Have you watched any tape of Dashon Goldson from last year and seen how he played in this defense?

REID: I watched a little bit. I see why they lost him to free agency. He’s a great player. I’m going to try to get on the field, and when I am I don’t want to have any downfalls.

Q: What’s your first impression of how your game compares to his?

REID: I think we’re pretty similar. We almost have identical body types, it’s kind of weird. Same height, almost the same weight, almost the same person I guess. But I still have to prove myself. He’s very proven. He’s a veteran and I’m a rookie. Hopefully it works out for me.

Q: Do you think you’re ready as far as conditioning?

REID: I do think I’m ready as far as conditioning. I worked out with the team at LSU during the dead period after the draft. I’m just looking forward to doing my job. The NFL is fast. They motion or change the play. You’ve got to be quick. I think that’s going to be the hardest part.

Q: Did it help you to study the play book before the mini-camp?

REID: Definitely. I was ahead of the curve a little bit. The calls were familiar. The checks were familiar. Now it’s doing it with speed. When something happens, you’ve got to do it right now. You can’t sit and think about it. That’s the biggest transition.