When the San Francisco 49ers traded for Jimmy Garoppolo in 2017, the quarterback had about a month to absorb Kyle Shanahan's playbook before his first start. New 49ers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders had just days to do so after joining the team one week ago.
Sanders had a few advantages that Garoppolo didn't have. He only needed to learn enough to play his position effectively in the game and wasn't going to immediately be asked to do everything, as other receivers on the roster are expected to do. He also doesn't play quarterback — the position expected to lead and run the offense.
Sanders joined KNBR on Tuesday morning and described what his crash course was like leading to his 49ers debut against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
"I kind of went back to college [this past week]," Sanders said on the "Murph and Mac" show. "I had the notes with the highlighter pen, studying at night time, studying in the morning. [Receivers coach Wes Welker] did a good job helping me."
Sanders had another advantage during his college-like study sessions. He was already somewhat familiar with the course material. It was like he had already taken Shanahan 101 in Denver and was now ready for the more advanced class.
"One of the best things about coming here is Rich (Scangarello)," Sanders continued, "who was the quarterbacks coach here last year, who was the offensive coordinator for the Broncos, kind of ran a similar playbook, but the terminology is different. So I kind of had to get adjusted to the terminology more than anything.
"Kyle's playbook is obviously bigger. His formations and his motions, he uses motions a lot. So I had to get familiar with that, but I definitely made my fair share of mental errors throughout the week. One thing I kept doing is I kept jumping offsides with Jimmy's snap count (in my first practice). I didn't figure out the snap count until the second day."
Sanders finished Sunday's game with four catches for 25 yards and hauled in his first touchdown with his new team.
"As the days stacked, I got more and more familiar with the playbook, and I think went into that game, and I don't think I had one mental error," Sanders explained. "Even catching the touchdown pass, and out of everything, that's what I was more happy about — the fact that I studied throughout the week and I didn't go in there and make any mental errors that slowed the offense down."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Sanders below.
