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• With a sizable chip on his shoulder (at least if you judge by the barbs aimed at Pete Carroll on draft day), a new style to learn and a lot to prove in the NFL, it made sense that Taylor Mays would be an early signing. He was neither early nor late, putting pen to paper this morning, a couple hours before he was scheduled to sit in his first meeting of training camp.

  Now we know why Mays didn't sign earlier: He had to wait for the player slotted directly in front of him, former Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen.

  How Taylor Mays became a film buff

• We've seen plenty of the 49ers' rookies by now, after two minicamps and numerous voluntary practices. But when the Niners put on the pads and do some hitting Monday - the team will line up in shells on Sunday afternoon - it will be a whole new viewing experience.

  Watching a football team in non-contact practices is like watching a professional boxer hit the speed bag. It may be impressive in some ways, but it isn't highly instructive.

  Now the gloves comes off, so to speak.

  49ers' rookies ready for some contact

• The 49ers had a busy and encouraging Friday morning, signing all four of their top draft choices to contracts by 10:30 a.m.

  Tackle Anthony Davis, the No. 13 overall pick, signed a five-year deal worth as much as $26.5 million, with nearly $16 million of it guaranteed (as first reported by ESPN). Guard Mike Iupati, taken four picks later, bagged a five-year deal of his own that will bring a maximum of $18.25 million, with $10.8 million guaranteed (first reported by NFL Network).

  49ers sign all their draft choices

• Forty-Niners rookies are supposed to report to Santa Clara tomorrow, and still no word on the top four - T Anthony Davis, G Mike Iupati, S Taylor Mays and LB Navorro Bowman - signing contracts.

  Rookie contracts, especially at the upper end, tend to come in a torrent rather than a trickle, as every agent and NFL general manager (or vice president of player personnel) waits to see what everybody else is getting paid.

  Very few first-round selections have signed yet, but second- and third-rounders have been using up a lot of ink in the past 48 hours. And because of those deals, I'm predicting that Bowman, a third-round pick out of Penn State, will secure a four-year contract worth a maximum of $3.3 million, with a signing bonus of $700,000.

  Predicting Navorro Bowman's contract