Cheap Free Agents the 49ers Should Target, Part 8 — Wide Receivers
If injuries were turned off, the San Francisco 49ers would have their three wide receivers. The problem is they have yet to play a game together.
Deebo Samuel missed a game in 2019, and another nine in 2020.
Brandon Aiyuk looked very good in 12 games, but a couple injuries cut his rookie season short.
Jalen Hurd, the team’s third round pick in 2019, hasn’t made his NFL debut.
The only reliable receiver, in terms of health, has been Kendrick Bourne. Yet, he’s both battled drops and is a free agent.
For the eighth installment of “Cheap Free Agents the 49ers Should Target,” we analyze wide receiver, and some inexpensive options to shore up the 49ers offense. If you’ve missed one of the past articles, you can check them out here: safety, cornerback, linebacker, edge rusher, defensive tackle, offensive tackle and interior offensive line.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan prefers to draft receivers, rather than sign veterans. He’s drafted seven receivers since 2017.
The likeliest avenue is the 49ers re-sign Bourne and/or draft another receiver in the first four rounds. Yet, if they do opt for free agency, there are some good choices.
The top four inexpensive fits are Seattle’s David Moore, Cleveland’s Rashard Higgins, Buffalo’s Isaiah McKenzie and Jacksonville’s Keelan Cole.
Only six unrestricted free-agent wide receivers signed deals for over $2.5 million last offseason (per Spotrac). That class was much weaker than this year’s stacked market. The 49ers should try to take advantage.
Of the four, Cole had the highest salary in 2020. He played under the same second-round tender that netted Bourne $3.259 million.
Jacksonville has the cap room to re-sign Cole. Yet former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer might opt to reunite with some of his college wideouts. This could allow the 49ers to swoop in and sign the big-play slot receiver.
Cole (64.2% snaps in slot per playerprofiler) averages 4.5 more yards per game than Bourne and 1.2 more yards per reception.
Remaining in the slot, McKenzie (5-foot-7) would add a lot more speed (4.42 40-time), but would sacrifice the height and physicality of the 6-foot-1 Bourne (4.68 40-time).
McKenzie had a solid season in Buffalo’s prolific offense, catching a career-high 30 passes on 34 targets, for 282 yards, 17 first downs and five touchdowns (including one against San Francisco).
If Shanahan is hoping to add speed to his receiver corps, McKenzie would be a great place to start at less than $2 million.
McKenzie would also improve the offense’s versatility and the return game. He has 128 yards and two touchdowns on 29 rushes, and averages 9.5 yards per punt return.
Higgins could end up being the most expensive of the bunch. He filled in quite well when Odell Beckham Jr. went down, setting career-highs in receiving yards (599) and yards per target (11.5).
Like the others, Higgins is a chain-mover, with 70.27% of his 2020 catches going for first downs. He compares physically to Bourne (both are 6-foot-1) and holds a slight edge in the 40 (4.64).
The most intriguing cheap receiver might be Moore. The 6-foot-1 receiver has 13 touchdowns and 51 first downs in his last 46 games.
He has plenty of big-play potential with a 14.9 career YPC, and average depths of targets of 15.9, 14.2 and 8.9. He also has 91 rushing yards on 12 attempts.
Moore’s signing would also take away one of Russell Wilson’s preferred third down targets (20 of Moore’s 25 third down catches have earned first downs).
There’s no shortage of talent if the 49ers look outside the organization and utilize free agency to upgrade their depth. The bigger issue is how much of the salary cap is San Francisco willing to dedicate toward receivers.
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