SANTA CLARA — Jon Baldwin debuted Tuesday at 49ers practice with a 6-foot-4, athletic frame. That’s also how the enticing wideout showed up two years ago with the Kansas City Chiefs, and look where that got him: traded Monday to the 49ers.

“When we drafted him, we felt he was a tremendous height, weight, speed prospect,” former Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli said. “Even though he’s a big, tall guy, he has deceptive speed and covers more ground than you’d expect.

“He can make difficult catches that others can’t. He just needs to work on his consistency a bit.”

Baldwin, a 2011 first-round draft pick, couldn’t make enough catches for the Chiefs, so they swapped him for A.J. Jenkins, who didn’t make a single catch last season as the 49ers’ top draft pick.

One NFL personnel executive gave this scouting report of Baldwin: “A bigger, stronger player with very inconsistent hands. Some question (his) make up. A bit stiff and straight line (route runner).”

Baldwin downplayed any concerns about dropped passes, even though he had one in Friday’s exhibition loss to the 49ers and one early in Tuesday’s practice during a one-on-none drill.

“We’re professionals. We want to catch them all, but you may drop one or two,” Baldwin said. “You can’t get too down on it. You’ve just got to go out and try to make the next play.”

Of the 97 career passes targeted for Baldwin, he dropped seven and made 41 receptions for a dismal, 42.3-percent catch rate, according to ProFootballFocus.com. He’s had just one touchdown catch each season.

But Baldwin’s average of 16.3 yards per catch in 2012 could be a boon for a 49ers offense seeking a deep threat, especially since Michael Crabtree and Mario Manningham are out at least the first six games and possibly into December.

Offensive coordinator Greg Roman studied film of the 230-pound Baldwin and said of his new receiver: “His size is the first thing you notice. He has really good range, leaping ability. … A great catch radius is a really good thing.”

Those attributes also helped Baldwin excel in basketball at Aliquippa (Pa.) High School, where epic games ensued against a rival school featuring current Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor. (In the 2007 playoff semifinals, Pryor’s Jeannette High team beat Aliquippa 70-48 … in football, not basketball.)

Coach Jim Harbaugh said he’s been aware of Baldwin since those Aliquippa days, noting that Baldwin was heavily recruited in basketball by then-Marquette coach Tom Crean, Harbaugh’s brother-in-law.

That basketball background and big body helps Baldwin create separation on the football field, said Pioli, now an NBC Sports NFL analyst. Not helping Baldwin’s cause, however, was the Chiefs’ constant turnover in coaches, coordinators and quarterbacks.

“What I did a poor job in helping Jon’s development was keeping continuity and consistency around him, and that’s not Jon’s fault,” Pioli said.

Baldwin gladly accepted his latest “fresh start,” even if it’s his fifth offensive system in four years, dating back to his University of Pittsburgh days.

Colin Kaepernick’s “zip” on the ball isn’t totally new to him, not after admiring it from afar last Friday.

“It’s kind of funny, before the game I was watching him warm up and I was saying, ‘He throws a pretty good ball,’ ” Baldwin said. “Then two or three days later, I’m here. It’s kind of funny how things work out. It’s a blessing in disguise.

“I’m looking forward to this great opportunity to be here.”

Kaepernick wore a black jersey to practice while the other quarterbacks wore red ones like the rest of the offense. Asked if it signified “no contact” for health reasons, Roman replied: “I wouldn’t read into anything. … He seems very vibrant and healthy.”

Cornerback Tarell Brown said his new agent, Joel Segal, is negotiating with the 49ers to reclaim some of the $2 million escalator Brown inadvertently lost by not participating in this offseason’s voluntary program, The Associated Press reported. Brown hopes a resolution is reached before the season. He is due $925,000 in salary for the final year of his contract.

Cornerback Carlos Rogers watched the Super Bowl once, and that was enough. “I always see plays where, ‘Man, I should have done this, or we should have done that, or the offense should have done this,’ ” Rogers said of the Super Bowl. “You can’t win them all. But that’s the one game … How many chances do you get? This is my ninth year and I went once.”

Kaepernick, with 10 career starts, has 10/1 odds of winning the NFL’s MVP award, per online sportsbook Bovada.lv. Kaepernick only trails the Denver Broncos’ Peyton Manning (5/1) and the Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers (13/2).

Former 49ers receiver J.J. Stokes visited practice. A 1995 first-round pick, he ranks 10th in team history with 327 receptions and 30 touchdowns.