49ers Clubhouse - 2000 Draft

Analysis by Rob Baker, 49ers Clubhouse draft writer:

Another guy that works hard on and of the field. Can be very accurate and has great leadership ability. An excellent passer on the run and can find open receivers. Rattay is perfectly suited to the West coast offence. Doesn’t have a strong arm and his physical skills lack a bit, but he has great competitiveness which may help him work to succeed in the NFL. Comments: If Steve Young doesn’t return in 2000, and Giovanni Carmazzi starts, he’ll give Jeff Garcia a fight for back-up privileges.

Info from The Sporting News:

War Room Analysis
Extremely efficient and accurate passer but does not have arm strength to step in and play right away at next level. Has trouble with outside routes. Deep out pass doesn’t have enough zip; ball tends to float. Has decent footwork and does best work out of shotgun formation. Setup is marginal; needs to do better job of cocking arm and getting into throwing motion quicker. Has great feel for position and passing game. Not a classic dropback passer but does excellent job of working underneath. Sees whole field and does outstanding job of finding second and third receivers. Good decision maker with ball and finds open receiver but will have trouble in NFL because teams will force him to make throws downfield and to the outside. Many scouts and coaches fear he is a product of his college system and that he will struggle with more complex passing scheme that may exploit marginal arm strength.
Notable: Finished career ranked second on all-time NCAA passing list; threw for more than 200 yards in each of 33 starts.
Overall grade: 20.0

Info from Pro Football Weekly:

Notes: Leading junior-college passer in the nation at Scottsdale (Ariz.) Junior College in 1995. Came to Louisiana Tech in '96 and redshirted while learning Gary Crowton's passing offense. Highly productive starter the last three years who broke a slew of records. Completed 293 of 477 passes for 3,881 yards, 34 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 1997, 380-559-4,943-46-13 in '98 and 342-516-3,922-35-12 in '99, when he missed time with a right ankle sprain. Lost Crowton and his go-to receiver, Troy Edwards, to the NFL in '99.

Positives: Top competitor. Tough guy. Hard worker. Knows the offense and works at reading defenses and knowing defensive tendencies. Good instincts and intangibles, judgment and poise. Accurate short passer. Has good timing and touch and can lay the ball off nicely. Will stand in against the rush but also can throw well on the move. Takes quick drops and can unload very quickly. Has been very productive. Has a 115-35 TD-interception ratio and threw for 12,746 yards in just three years.

Negatives: Lacks ideal size and a strong arm. Needs to do everything in rhythm and to be able to set his feet and step into his throws to throw down the field with any velocity or accuracy. Ball flutters at times. Gets passes batted down. Plays in a dink-and-dunk, QB-friendly offense, and a lot of his production comes on what amounts to long handoffs. Can only play in some types of offenses where he would be throwing a lot of quick, short passes on rhythm like the Bears are doing under Crowton.

Summary: Is not what you're looking for in terms of physical tools, but he has enough other things going for him that he should make a team which runs his type of offense.

Info from CBS SportsLine:

This slick throwing passer finished an outstanding career with the Bulldogs setting virtually every school record in the process. Rattay has excelled in Tech's run and shoot offense over his three seasons as a starter, after transferring from a one-year stay at Scottsdale junior college. He has a fast delivery, with the ability to quickly read plays and deliver the ball to the open receiver. He has been the most productive passer in the nation over the past three seasons, throwing for more than 12,000 yards. His senior season did not measure up to his incredible junior effort, when he threw for almost 5,000 yards.

Both star wide receiver Troy Edwards and head coach Gary Crowton left for the NFL after that campaign and the brunt of the offense fell on his shoulders as a senior. He was impressive, leading the nation in passing yards (3,922) with 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions as LSU finished 8-3. He is a smart athlete with keen instincts and good intangibles. He has developed quick decision making in the run and shoot attack, showing the rare ability for a young passer to find the secondary receiver. He reads his progressions well, with the smarts to find the open receiver. He has nice footwork and moves well in the pocket, although he is not a scrambler.

His junior season was one of the better performances in recent history. Working with Edwards, he was 380 of 559 for 4,943 yards with 46 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He combined with Edwards to form an unstoppable duo and smoked a tough Nebraska defense for an amazing 590 yards passing. He threw for over 300 yards in 10 of the 12 games with four games over 500 yards.

He is best suited for the west coast offense that relies on the quick passing game and movement. His lack of experience in a pro style offense is a concern. He needs work on his setup and handoffs while working under center. He needs extensive work on his three-, five- and seven-step drops and must learn to pick up coverage while setting up. At Senior Bowl practices he was sharp throwing the ball and left a favorable impression. He lacks imposing size and arm strength but he has learned how to win over his career, showing the savvy to get the job done on a consistent basis.

He is not your classic pocket passer and needs to create passing lanes with his mobility to be an effective thrower. He throws a soft catchable passer that is delivered with nice timing and velocity. He has an adequate arm with velocity and accuracy to throw the deep ball. He has the field presence to direct an offense and make the right decision consistently throughout a game. He is a passer with some physical limitations, but ideal for the West Coast attack, with the intangibles to eventually start. He'd make a nice middle-round pick.