Ashley Lelie, WR, San Francisco 49ers

March 8, 2007 @ 16:00:00

By Bryce McRae
Edited by Cory J. Bonini

The San Francisco 49ers have not been quiet during this offseason, but until now most of their signings had come on the defensive side of the ball with the acquisitions of linebacker Tully Banta-Cain (Patriots), cornerback Nate Clements (Bills), defensive Aubrayo Franklin (Ravens) and safety Michael Lewis (Eagles). 

With some of their defensive shortcomings addressed, the 49ers were in the market another wide receiver and ended up signing Ashley Lelie (Falcons) to a two-year, $6 million contract. The former University of Hawaii wide receiver comes over from the Atlanta Falcons, where he had the worst season of his career in 2006, catching just 28 passes for 430 yards and one touchdown. A question one could ask, however, is how much of that was the offense and quarterback he had in Atlanta? Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is known to be the most accurate passer. 

During Lelie's best seasons in Denver (where he played from 2002-05), he posted one 1,000-yard season and twice led the league in yards per reception (2004 and 2005).

Table: Ashley Lelie - Career Statistics - (2002-06)

Year	Team	GM	GS	Rec	Yds	YPR	Lg	TD
2002	Denver Broncos	16	1	35	525	15.0	48	2
2003	Denver Broncos	16	10	37	628	17.0	60	2
2004	Denver Broncos	16	16	54	1084	20.1	58	7
2005	Denver Broncos	16	13	42	770	18.3	56	1
2006	Atlanta Falcons	15	10	28	430	15.4	51	1
Total		79	50	196	3437	17.5	60	13

As can be seen, Lelie has only had one solid season, but he has also never had a great quarterback, nor has he been the central part of the offense (both Denver and Atlanta were more run-based). In San Francisco, the former first-round pick will continue to fight against those who are labeling him a bust, but he will bring the team the deep threat they were lacking last year.

Positives

Speed, speed and more speed. Lelie has not been brought in to be a Marvin Harrison-type, possession receiver. The 49ers don't have a speed receiver, which is where Lelie will really help them. In both 2004 and 2005, he led the league in yards per catch; he could easily do such again, especially if 49ers quarterback Alex D. Smith continues to progress.

The 49ers also have one of the top running backs in Frank Gore in the National Football Conference. If they can get the play-action pass working, Lelie could be an even bigger threat, similar to his 2004 season in Denver. The 49ers would like nothing better than to draw opposing cornerbacks to the line with some punishing runs from Gore before striking deep with Lelie.

Lelie will also be the most experienced wide receiver on the team and could be thrust into a leadership role at least amongst the receivers. This is something he has never had to do before, and it could bring a new focus to the field for him.

Negatives

Consistency has been Lelie's biggest fault so far during his career. He has only had one 1,000-yard season during his five-year career and only once in that time has he started all 16 games. His numbers last year were disheartening and it could be a signal that Lelie just doesn't have what it takes at this level. Even during his best season in Denver, Lelie had a tendency to disappear in games, although that could be more due to the nature of his style of play. Regardless, he will need to improve his focus if he wants to maintain a starting job in the National Football League.

He will also be stepping into an offense that has some uncertainty around it. There are no other receivers (at least not yet) to take pressure off of him. His quarterback, Smith, will have his fourth offensive coordinator in the past four years (if you go back to college) and it is unknown how that will affect his development. After getting off to a positive start, Smith struggled at the end of the 2006 campaign. In his last six games, he averaged 178 passing yards, one touchdown and 1.5 interceptions per game. He also had quarterback ratings of 50.1, 41.5, 48.2, 102.4, 66.7 and 69.0. They will have some continuity in their offense as it will be the old quarterbacks coach, Jim Hostler, taking over but how this will affect Smith remains to be seen?

Lelie also tailed off (if you can call it that) during the second half of last season. Only twice did he surpass 40 receiving yards in games and twice he went without any receptions. He also ended the season inactive with a shoulder injury.

Bottom Line

With all the change going on in San Francisco, Lelie has been one of the quieter additions to the team; however, because of his abilities on the offensive side of the ball (and the team's deficiencies at wide receiver), he could end up having just as big an impact as Clements. A lot will depend on how Smith and the new offense are set up. It has never been a question of talent for Lelie (you can't teach speed or size) but it is his focus that will need to catch up. If he can do that, 2007 might be the year he finally sheds the “bust” label. His value at this point is likely as a decent No. 3 wide receiver.

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Bryce McRae
Bryce McRae is a Managing Editor with KFFL and has been involved in fantasy sports since 1999. He joined KFFL as a volunteer writer in March 2005 before becoming a Hot off the Wire Analyst in March 2006. He began working in his current capacity in September 2008. His work has appeared on fantasy sports sites such as Yahoo! and CBS Sportsline as well as in print. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2008 with a B.A. in History and U.S. Studies.

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