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Do the 49ers Still Have One of the NFL's Top Pass-Catching Groups?

I'd take their pass catchers over the Cowboys, Dolphins and Rams pass catchers any day.
Grant Cohn|
Dec 10, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) celebrates with running back Christian McCaffrey (23) after scoring a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Dec 10, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) celebrates with running back Christian McCaffrey (23) after scoring a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

Just a couple years ago, the 49ers had arguably the top pass-catching group in the NFL.

Now, Deebo Samuel is a Washington Commander and Brandon Aiyuk is recovering from a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus. So where do the 49ers' pass catchers rank in the league?

Not in the top eight according to NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks, whose ranking is as follows: Bengals, Eagles, Vikings, Buccaneers, Rams, Lions, Dolphins, Cowboys.

I find it strange not to rank the 49ers in the top 8. They still have the best tight end in football, George Kittle. He'll catch at least 80 passes if he stays healthy.

They stlll have the best pass-catching running back in football, Christian McCaffrey. He'll snag at least 70 passes if he stays healthy.

They still have the best pass-catching fullback in football, Kyle Juszczyk. He's good for 19 or 20 catches per season.

They still have Jauan Jennings who caught 77 passes last season and has become one of the top possession receivers in the league.

And they still have Ricky Pearsall who had 14 catches, 212 yards and 2 touchdowns in the final two games of his rookie season. He will be an upgrade over Deebo Samuel who can't get open anymore.

Those are five above-average-to-outstanding pass catchers. I'm not saying the 49ers have the best group in the NFL, but they have one of the deepest. And they still have Aiyuk who will make midseason return. Plus they signed Demarcus Robinson who had 505 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns for the Rams last season.

I'd take their pass catchers over the Cowboys, Dolphins and Rams pass catchers any day.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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