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WR Arnaz Battle, San Francisco 49ers

HT: 6-1, WT: 217, Born: 2-22-1980, College: Notre Dame, Drafted: Round 6

2008 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of June 28th. [Full ADP list]

Overall: S Smith (215), D Avery (216), Arnaz Battle (217), T Glenn (218), R Williams (219)
Position: S Smith (215-WR73), D Avery (216-WR74), Arnaz Battle (217 - WR75), T Glenn (218-WR76), R Williams (219-WR77)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

Best Case

Arnaz Battle will get opportunities for the 49ers this year. He is the favorite to win the No.3 role and could do more if Isaac Bruce feels his age or Bryant Johnson disappoints. He has been the most productive receiver for the 49ers over the last 2 years and many fell he deserves an opportunity to start in a productive offense. Battle's skill as a run blocker will also get him on the field more often than not.

Worst Case

The upside for Arnaz Battle appears limited. There may not be enough ball to go around if the likely scenario of Battle losing the starting job eventuates. In his 5 years in the NFL to date he has yet to post a 100 yard game and has only exceeded 60 yards on 7 occasions. He has never had more than 7 receptions in a game and averages 2 touchdowns a year. That's not going to win your league.

Outlook

Arnaz Battle is the only wide receiver left from the 2006 season and is a favorite of head coach Mike Nolan. Whether he has a prominent role in the Mike Martz offense is debatable. Battle has had the opportunity in the last 2 years to stake a claim, but hasn't excelled. The signings of Bryant Johnson and Isaac Bruce, as well as the threat of 2nd year man Jason Hill could doom Battle to a bit part. If he can play a role similar to what Shaun McDonald or Mike Furrey did for Martz in Detroit, then he could be underrated.

Relevant Articles

2008 Schedule

2007 Game Summaries

Week 1 - Battle was the game's leading receiver on the night with five catches for 60 yards. He figured prominently in the 49ers' final game winning drive being targeted five times during the drive alone. He made a clutch 22 yard catch down to the Cardinals' one yard line, on a third and 13, only to fumble the ball into the end zone, where it was recovered by teammate Darrell Jackson. According to NFL rules, in the last two minutes of the game, when a player fumbles into the end zone and the ball is recovered, it must be placed at the site of the fumble. On the next play, Battle, who was in motion, took a hand off from Alex Smith and ran around the left side untouched for the game winning score.

Week 2 - Battle was only able to corral two of the five passes that came his way. As Smith was limited in his passing, the receivers did not see much action either.

Week 3 - Battle was targeted three times in the second half. He converted two first downs with receptions of eleven and 16 yards. Battle also gained eight yards on a reverse. On the play, Battle delivered a blow to Troy Polamalu rather than go out of bounds.

Week 4 - Once Trent Dilfer entered the game, Jackson and Battle split targets, though Battle was utilized primarily on underneath routes.

Week 5 - Battle caught three passes for 36 yards, on five targets. In the third quarter Trent Dilfer found Battle on a slant for a 23 yard touchdown into tight coverage. Though he appeared to be Dilfer's favorite target in this game, the gameplan simply did not use the pass near enough for him to make much of an impact.

Week 7 - Battle was targeted a team high ten times, bringing in six of them for 57 yards and a score. He scored the first points of the game for the 49ers on a 17 yard strike from Trent Dilfer in the first quarter.

Week 8 - Battle was one of Smith's top targets, but really, most of the balls were nowhere near catchable. He was well covered all day, and had very little opportunity to make anything happen. He really suffered without Darrell Jackson in the lineup to take off some of the heat in the secondary.

Week 9 - As went QB Alex Smith's day, so went Arnaz Battle's. All of his catches came in the first half, though he was targeted evenly in both.

Week 10 - Despite being targeted ten times by QB Alex Smith, Battle was only able to haul in four passes. He was credited with a catch on the last play of the first half that went for 45 yards and he took a third quarter pass down to the Seattle two yard line. In addition to his pass catching, he was also called upon to run the football, but his rushing attempt resulted in a loss of two yards.

Week 11 - Battle was the most targeted wide receiver for the 49ers, and was looked at on first, second and third down, primarily over the middle and on shorter routes.

Week 12 - Battle scored on a 57 yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to give the 49ers the lead. Battle caught the ball on an out pattern, and juked his way past the Cardinals defender down the left sideline.

Week 13 - Arnaz Battle caught four passes for 51 yards and a touchdown. In the first quarter, Battle ran the ball but when he spun to try to break a tackle in the backfield he fumbled. Carolina drove down and picked up a field goal off of the turnover. Battle finally got San Francisco on the board in the third quarter. He caught a pass down the middle and was wide open because the Carolina defender fell down. Battle had an 18 yard reception called back due to a penalty on San Francisco.

Week 14 - Battle was invisible for most of the game. He was able to score the 49ers lone touchdown. He found himself wide open in the end zone, and Shaun Hill was able to locate him after several reads. He finished with just 13 yards, however.

Week 15 - Battle caught a 17 yard pass for a first down on the 49ers first drive of the game, but it would be his only catch of the first half. He would only catch one more pass for six yards in the game.

Week 16 - Battle was targeted five times, but failed to record a reception.

Week 17 - Battle, much like most of the San Francisco receiving corps, suffered from an inexperienced quarterback in Chris Weinke. He finished the day with three catches for 19 yards, and was largely a non-issue in the game.