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The San Francisco 49ers offense took a tremendous blow with the news that wide receiver Michael Crabtree had tore his Achilles tendon. There is never a convenient time for an injury in the NFL, especially for the 49ers who were finally starting to see a return on their 2009 first round investment in Crabtree.
If there is a silver lining to this dark looming cloud over the Bay Area it is the offseason acquisition of former Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Anquan Boldin and the team spending a fourth round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft on Louisiana Tech wide receiver Quinton Patton. Boldin’s stock as a Fantasy Football receiver certainly skyrocketed with the Crabtree injury and if you didn’t have him on your fantasy radar prior to the 49ers losing Crabtree, he most certainly needs to be now.
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And Patton becomes an intriguing sleeper that you could draft late in all fantasy formats. Here’s what we know about Patton – he’s eager. So much so that he has already made the national spotlight when he purchased a plane ticket out of his own pocket so he could get to work in San Francisco.
Because of this enthusiasm we know Patton has immediately won over 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh. Thankfully for the 49ers, Patton phoned Harbaugh before arriving at the team headquarters, which is against league rules.
Statistically, we know Patton played at the NCAA Division I level for two years in which he accumulated 2,600 yards and 24 TDs. And finally we know that A.J. Jenkins was a non-factor in his first season as a 49er and Mario Manningham has struggled with injury opening the door for the rookie to slide in to the starting lineup.
The impacts of preseason injuries are very unfortunate, and that is certainly the case in San Francisco. However, once in awhile those injuries open the door to a fantasy football talent we may have otherwise never heard of, like Kurt Warner for example.
Patton has tremendous upside and he now has the opportunity. This is a WR that you can draft very late, or pick up post draft on waiver wires, begging the question – what do you have to lose?
Jim Heath is a Fantasy Football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @jim_heath, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
