Seeking depth at WR

By Scooter_McG

The 49ers have two young, exciting playmakers at WR in Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. When healthy they provide the 49ers an excellent WR duo to complement Kittle and the ground game. However, staying on the field was a problem last year, in particular for Samuel. Further, the main backup to Deebo and Aiyuk last year (Bourne) is a FA, and the rest of the WR depth chart has yet to distinguish themselves, with the likes of James, Taylor and Benjamin (back after sitting out last year) the most accomplished backups currently on the roster.  

Providing JG (or whoever is under centre for the 49ers in 2021) with additional weapons on the perimeter is a must to ensure the team has a reliable stable of playmakers it can turn to throughout the season.

Shanahan has shown a strong preference for receivers that offer significant run after catch (RAC) ability, whether it be through speed and elusiveness (like Aiyuk, Pettis and Sanders) or power and brute strength (like Deebo and Kittle). This is at the core of his offense. Ability to separate is also a trait Shanahan looks for, as well as toughness (after learning his lesson with Pettis).

Another staple of Shanahan’s offense historically has been a speedy complement at WR to stretch a defense vertically and open up room underneath in both the pass and run game, while in recent years the team has also looked to add big slot WRs with positional flexibility in Hurd (2019) and Jennings (2020).

With so little established depth behind Deebo and Aiyuk the 49ers could look to add WRs to fit any of the above parameters. But for mine the key areas the team is lacking is a reliable WR that can fill in as a starter in place of Samuel or Aiyuk when needed, a reliable slot WR, and a guy that makes defenses respect the deep ball. That doesn’t mean they need to add three WRs – the guy(s) they add can cover more than one of those traits. And if you read my last article you will likely realise that I think the slot WR can and will partially be covered by an addition at TE. If I had to guess, I would say two WRs will be added this offseason to compete with the guys already on the roster.  

As is going to be the case with many positions this offseason, FA will offer a good number of viable options with plenty of potential for a bargain due to the pandemic impacted salary cap. One name that 49ers fans will be familiar with is Emmanuel Sanders who was recently released by the Saints. He could prove a savvy pick up for this team, providing a reliable veteran presence that even at 34 can play any of the WR positions at a high level, offering enough speed to still be a threat to go deep but doing most of his work attacking the short and intermediate areas. The impact he had on the 49ers young WR group in 2019 was immediate and significant, and he could be a real asset in the development of Deebo and Aiyuk. But salary will be a big consideration, and with so many good options available in FA the 49ers should not overpay to sign Sanders this offseason.

Some high profile names in FA include Kenny Golloday, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Curtis Samuel, TY Hilton, Will Fuller, Golden Tate, Marvin Jones, Sammy Watkins, DeSean Jackson, AJ Green and Antonio Brown. JuJu could be a sneaky one to keep an eye on if the 49ers feel like making a splash – he would fit that big, tough slot WR with RAC ability role. But given his likely salary demands it would seem unlikely. Curtis Samuel would also seem interesting given his positional flexibility as a WR/RB hybrid type, but again, salary will likely make him outside the 49ers grasp.

On more of a budget, someone like John Brown who was released by the Bills could be an interesting one as a guy that stretch the defense, in a similar vein to Goodwin. While a guy that could likely be added on the vet minimum is John Ross, who could offer similar potential but has yet t put it together in the NFL.

It is also expected to be another strong year for WRs in the draft, and the 49ers will no doubt look to add a WR or two through this avenue. However, I will go into potential draft options in a future article.

What do you think the 49ers will do at WR, and who might be an option in FA?