SANTA CLARA — At a practice during the final week of the 2004 season, a rookie named Rashaun Woods soared over a defender in the back of the end zone to make a sensational fingertip catch.
One of the veterans openly scoffed.
“Hey,” the player cracked, “who’s the new guy?”
That’s how long it took for Woods, a first-round pick, to do anything worth noticing. It capped an invisible season in a career that never took flight.
In contrast, this 49ers draft class has come smashing through the front door.
