The 49ers foolishly signed Vance McDonald to a five-year contract extension worth $35 million in December – less than a month before they fired Chip Kelly. The new regime was able to unload McDonald today, getting Pittsburgh to take that contract off their hands. They also picked up a slight upgrade in draft resources, giving away a fifth-round pick and receiving a fourth as part of the deal.
It’s a good deal for San Francisco. They save some money, and they’ll be fine at tight end without him. Rookie George Kittle has better hands and a better feel for the passing game. He scored a really nice 29-yard touchdown in the second half of the preseason game against the Broncos. They’ve also still got the younger of the Celek boys.
The Steelers have long been itching to blend a speedy tight end into their offense. They signed Ladarius Green last year, recall, but he hardly played because of injuries. Now they have McDonald, who can really move when he gets going. He scored on 75- and 65-yard touchdowns last year, which is rare for a tight end. Only three other tight ends last year were able to score touchdowns of 60-plus yards.
But McDonald doesn’t have a great feel for route-running and doesn’t have very good hands. He’s not good at pulling in passes in contested situations, and even the easy ones too often bounce off his mitts. Over the last two years, he’s dropped 10 passes versus 54 catches, the worst drop rate in the league among the 37 tight ends who’ve caught at least 50 passes. Back in 2014, he had as many drops (2) as catches.
| TIGHT END DROPS (2015-16) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Rec | Drops | Pct |
| Zach Miller | 81 | 0 | .0% |
| Cameron Brate | 80 | 0 | .0% |
| Heath Miller | 60 | 0 | .0% |
| Jason Witten | 146 | 1 | .7% |
| Rob Gronkowski | 97 | 1 | 1.0% |
| Jacob Tamme | 81 | 1 | 1.2% |
| Jordan Reed | 153 | 2 | 1.3% |
| Dennis Pitta | 86 | 2 | 2.3% |
| Greg Olsen | 157 | 4 | 2.5% |
| Zach Ertz | 153 | 5 | 3.2% |
| Richard Rodgers | 88 | 3 | 3.3% |
| Martellus Bennett | 108 | 4 | 3.6% |
| Delanie Walker | 159 | 6 | 3.6% |
| Kyle Rudolph | 132 | 5 | 3.6% |
| Jack Doyle | 71 | 3 | 4.1% |
| Jimmy Graham | 113 | 5 | 4.2% |
| Ladarius Green | 55 | 3 | 5.2% |
| Antonio Gates | 109 | 6 | 5.2% |
| Ryan Griffin | 70 | 4 | 5.4% |
| Coby Fleener | 104 | 6 | 5.5% |
| Dwayne Allen | 51 | 3 | 5.6% |
| Gary Barnidge | 134 | 8 | 5.6% |
| Mychal Rivera | 50 | 3 | 5.7% |
| Vernon Davis | 82 | 5 | 5.7% |
| Travis Kelce | 157 | 10 | 6.0% |
| Charles Clay | 108 | 7 | 6.1% |
| Clive Walford | 61 | 4 | 6.2% |
| Will Tye | 90 | 6 | 6.3% |
| Benjamin Watson | 74 | 5 | 6.3% |
| Jermaine Gresham | 55 | 4 | 6.8% |
| C.J. Fiedorowicz | 71 | 6 | 7.8% |
| Tyler Eifert | 81 | 7 | 8.0% |
| Jared Cook | 69 | 6 | 8.0% |
| Eric Ebron | 108 | 12 | 10.0% |
| Julius Thomas | 76 | 9 | 10.6% |
| Lance Kendricks | 75 | 9 | 10.7% |
| Vance McDonald | 54 | 10 | 15.6% |
I expect Jesse James will remain Pittsburgh’s starting tight end. He’s got a much better feel for the team’s offense, and he’s got better hands. In the preseason game against the Colts on Saturday, James nearly came up with a remarkable catch in the red zone. He had a defender all over him, but Ben Roethlisberger went that way anyway. James reached over the defender, caught the ball, and had it for a step or two – the defender was able to knock it loose before they got to the ground.
I imagine the Steelers will work in McDonald as a second tight end, seeing if they can sneak him down the field for a few long completions. With his speed, he’s got more ability to run vertical routes downfield. But I’m confident James will play more and finish with better numbers (not, however, a threat to finish with top-15 numbers at the position).
—Ian Allan