Player Profile: Jon Baldwin

Jon Baldwin has been a perplexing player to watch since he was drafted in 2011. At six foot four and 230 pounds along with a 42-inch vertical, Baldwin clearly possesses all of the physical attributes needed to become a star receiver in the league. However, Baldwin has been far from a star on the field. The Kansas City Chiefs spent their first round pick on him and gave up on him after two seasons by shipping him to San Francisco.

For every one-handed or diving catch he makes, Baldwin will drop a pass that makes you want to bang your head against a wall as a fan. The biggest paradox with Baldwin however is that he should be a major presence on the field, at the very least attracting attention from defenders, yet often times it’s easy to forget he’s even on the field.

Baldwin attended the University of Pittsburgh and steadily rose to become a nationally known player with a big upside. During his junior season Baldwin had 54 receptions for 1,080 yards along with eight touchdowns. Entering into his senior year, Lindy’s labeled Baldwin the third best receiver in the country; however Baldwin’s numbers dropped to 55 receptions for 822 yards and five touchdowns.

Of course, Baldwin was given more attention by defenders after his impressive junior year so his slight drop in production seemed somewhat reasonable. The Kansas City Chiefs spent their first round pick on Baldwin in 2011, and even at the time many analysts questioned the pick but nobody could deny the Chiefs’ need for a second receiver to complement Dwayne Bowe.

Baldwin’s tenure got off to a rocky start after he hurt his wrist after getting into a fight with veteran Thomas Jones in training camp. Kansas City media members began to label Baldwin a “diva” and that he had no interest in learning from coaches. He left Pitt on negative terms as he accused them of “purposely trying to disrupt my draft stock.” He began camp as the number two receiver on the depth chart, but was soon surpassed by Steve Breaston and Jerheme Urban. Baldwin wasn’t able to find the field until week seven of the regular season due to his injury, and high points were hard to come by.

Baldwin showed flashes of impressive potential including a superb touchdown catch in a close victory on Monday Night Football against the San Diego Chargers, but that ended up being Baldwin’s only touchdown of the season. He recorded 21 receptions for 254 yards his rookie season; despite his underwhelming numbers, the organization kept faith in Baldwin. As training camp opened for his second season, Baldwin began to garner some buzz around Kansas City. Local media reported that Baldwin seemingly looked greatly improved and was working hard in practice. It became clear early in the season however, that Baldwin wasn’t living up to the label of a first round draft pick. The Chiefs finished their 2012 campaign with the worst record in the NFL at 2-14 and Baldwin had an equally disappointing season with only 20 receptions in 15 games for 325 yards and a touchdown.

After an atrocious season, Clark Hunt cleaned house by firing general manager Scott Pioli and head coach Romeo Crennel; new general manager John Dorsey soon replaced Pioli, while Andy Reid was named the new head coach. It soon became clear that Reid was discouraged with Baldwin’s play in camp; when asked if he thought Baldwin had lost all of his confidence after recording zero catches in his first two pre-season games of 2013 Reid responded by saying “I can tell you that when given the opportunity in this league, you’d better catch the football.’’ Reid’s comment proved to foreshadow the subsequent trade that sent Baldwin to San Francisco for fellow first-round bust A.J. Jenkins.

While San Francisco fans shouldn’t expect much from Baldwin, maybe this is the ideal situation he needed in order for his career to flourish. Baldwin is entering San Francisco with virtually no expectation, and the 49ers certainly don’t need him to be productive in order to be a contender. With Michael Crabtree sidelined due to injury for the foreseeable future, Baldwin could receive some opportunities to get on the field and increase his in-game reps.

If there is any coach in the league that can help young struggling players, Jim Harbaugh might be the prime candidate. He turned around a young and struggling San Francisco squad into a true powerhouse of the league while developing young players who were seemingly not fulfilling their true potential such as Alex Smith and Vernon Davis. After all, sometimes a change of scenery truly is all a player needs to start over again fresh.

Jon Baldwin is seemingly at the crux of his career; he can prove his doubters wrong or he can fade away into irrelevancy becoming a third or fourth receiver as a straggler in the league. Baldwin has a real opportunity for redemption in San Francisco and seems to be a smart enough guy to realize that; if he utilizes his talents accordingly, don’t be surprised to hear him making some noise in the Bay.

Banner Photo: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports