Torrey Smith officially signed a 5-Year 40 Million dollar contract with the 49ers (22 guaranteed). Some may wonder whether this kind of money is worth a Wide Receiver who only had 49 catches for 767 yards in 2014. However, Torrey Smith fits a need for the 49ers and gives QB Colin Kaepernick a consistent deep threat with elite speed.
While Torrey Smith only had 49 catches, he still was able to haul in 11 Touchdowns. More importantly, he lead the league in yards gained on pass interference penalties, drawing 12 pass interference calls for a whopping 261 yards. When this stat is accounted for, Smith’s total productivity ends up as a de facto 61 catches for 1,028 yards and 11 TDs- much more in line with a top level NFL deep threat. Over the past four seasons, Smith leads the league with 571 yards gained via pass interference penalties, over 300 yards more than the next receiver (A.J. Green). Torrey Smith’s speed based skill set fits very well with Colin Kaepernick’s extremely strong arm. While Kaepernick struggled at times with his progression and reads from the pocket, he continued to thrive as a passer outside the pocket and in the scramble drill:
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Up until this point in his career, Kaepernick has thrived outside the pocket and scrambling without a true speedy deep threat.… Article continues here