John Lynch Cites the Growth he's Seen From Danny Gray and Ty Davis-Price

Wide receiver Danny Gray and running back Ty Davis-Price have come a long way from their underwhelming 2022 season.

The 2022 draft class for the San Francisco 49ers was underwhelming.

Outside of Brock Purdy, the 49ers got little to nothing from their rookies. What really made it disappointing was how there was no impact from third round selections Danny Gray and Ty Davis-Price.

Both were perceived to be as contributing role players, but never found any role their rookie years. 2023 has to be the year where they take a leap and prove to be useful to the 49ers. Otherwise, the 2022 draft class will start to look weak. As of now, it sounds like both Gray and Davis-Price are no where near the type of players they were last year. General manager John Lynch cites the growth he's seen from them starting with Gray.

"Receiver’s a tough position to play here. We split the guys all over. We ask them to multi-align, we motion them," said Lynch. "So, I think that can slow some players down early. And I think there's been an adjustment period for Danny. The one thing I'll say, whenever he’s gone in there [wide receivers coach Leonard Hankerson] Hank has a saying, ‘no block, no rock.’ Danny's always shown a want to go make those blocks and things. Now he's taking his game to the next level and we're starting to see it."

When Trey Lance went down for the season, it made Gray's role in the offense change. He was supposed to be the vertical threat to optimize the strong arm of Lance. With Lance gone, Gray had to adapt to being more well rounded with blocking being one of them. It is something he struggled with early on, but ended up giving the 49ers some hope at the end.

"I know he gets frustrated because he feels like he can run and if they can just get it out there, he can run by anyone. But he's doing his job over and over and my experience in the league, when you're doing it over and over and doing things the right way, it will start to show up on the field. And we're starting to see glimpses."

Maturation seems to be the biggest growth from Gray as well as the ability to be that well rounded receiver the 49ers want him to be. 

As for Davis-Price, a sprained ankle and inability to fit the running scheme quickly threw off his entire rookie season. Going into training camp, the possibility of him being cut was real. The 49ers cut Trey Sermon, a former third round pick like Davis-Price, because he was underperforming. That fate could definitely be shared for Davis-Price, but for now he is showcasing promise.

"Ty Davis-Price, he's really come a long way," said Lynch. "At times last year, it just didn't feel like it was the guy we watched in college. But man, it's been a complete turnaround. [John Lynch’s wife] Linda Lynch made me get back on my fitness. I've been coming in at five. I was in here the other day and there was one guy in the locker room, it was Ty Davis-Price. I don't know what the hell he was doing here at 5:00 am but he was here and you're seeing it on the field."

The 49ers just started the padded practice portion of training camp, so that is really where Davis-Price will win over Kyle Shanahan. He needs to show that he can protect the football, have physicality, and understand where his running lanes are without hesitation.

"He's hitting the hole. He's hitting it with the aggressiveness and that downhill style that we like and he's made himself a better receiver in the pass game. He's made himself a better blocker in the run game. And Ty's the type of player who's going to shine more when the pads come on because he plays with a tremendous physicality."

This season has all the makings, at least with how the 49ers are talking, of the 2022 draft class being productive. Drake Jackson and Brock Purdy are the most notable players looked at to be better, while Gray and Davis-Price are flying under the radar. If these two can give the 49ers adequate contributions, then the 2022 draft class will start to look like a solid one.