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I can't say this is a big surprise since I've never been a big Ashley Lelie fan. But apparently, the former Broncos and Falcons wide receiver might have more competition than expected with his latest team, the 49ers:

Marcus Maxwell, a seventh-round project who was chosen in 2005, continues to light up NFL Europa. He has six touchdown catches in seven games and caught six passes for 81 yards and a touchdown Saturday for the Hamburg Sea Devils. Second-year man Brandon Williams impressed during the first minicamp.

Now I don't think it's a good idea to project NFL success based on gaudy Europa numbers, but we're talking about Ashley Lelie here, not Jerry Rice. Plus, Lelie has been battling a a thigh injury, which has slowed his progress.

San Francisco signed him to a modest two-year, $4.3 million deal, so it's not like they're obligated to start him because of a ginormous contract. There's no mystery: if he stinks, he won't play.

The 49ers brought him in as the designated deep threat, and with Antonio Bryant no longer with the team, Lelie is, by default, the guy. His 17.5 yards-per-catch career average supports the deep-threat label, but it doesn't account for Lelie's knack for dropping passes. According to Football Outsiders, he only caught 41 percent of the passes thrown in his direction last season. That was good for next-to-last in the league. Just something to keep in mind when 49er fans are pining for the halcyon days of Brandon Lloyd and Cedrick Wilson sometime around Week 3.