Why the 49ers are Working out so Many Receivers
The 49ers have been inviting lots of players for workouts recently.
Dating as far back as when they brought on Marqise Lee, they have been bringing in player after player. Delanie Walker was one of them who worked out on Wednesday, then they signed tight end MyCole Pruitt, and now they are bringing in Canadian receiver/tight end Jevon Cottoy. The 49ers are lacking a true slot receiver and a replacement for Kendrick Bourne, so that could be why the 49ers are taking this route.
Why are the 49ers conducting a mass haul of visits?
Simple. Their current starters are nursing injuries and will not be ready until training camp. Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk are the most notable who will be missing in action, but even their depth players are sidelined as well. Richie James is hurt with a hamstring and Travis Benjamin with a calf injury. That is four wide receivers out with three of them being the most involved from last season.
The 49ers can't even hold an adequate practice with the remaining receivers, so of course they need to bring in a mass haul of players. They need to see who is sufficient to get clean looks out of Trey Lance. The last thing the 49ers want is to fail to fully analyze his game with receivers who are struggling to execute. If that were the case, then a training camp battle will heavily favor Jimmy Garoppolo more than it already is right now.
None of these players that the 49ers are signing right now will make the active roster, but there is a bright side. The longer these newly signed players get to show what they can do with the top players out, the better their chance to remain on as depth or even placed on the practice squad.
Ultimately, the 49ers just need to be able to keep the flow of practice strong. It isn't to find someone to be a top role player, although that would be a sweet find on their part. The faster they can get Lance up to speed during these June practices for training camp in a couple months, the better the competition will be.
