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Will Wide Receiver Isaiah Hodgins Make the 49ers' 53-Man Roster?

I like Hodgins' chances.
Grant Cohn|
Aug 18, 2023; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; The Carolina Panthers vs. the New York Giants in an NFL preseason game at MetLife Stadium. New York Giants Isaiah Hodgins (18) celebrates in the first quarter. Mandatory Credit: Michael Karas-The Record
Aug 18, 2023; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; The Carolina Panthers vs. the New York Giants in an NFL preseason game at MetLife Stadium. New York Giants Isaiah Hodgins (18) celebrates in the first quarter. Mandatory Credit: Michael Karas-The Record | Michael Karas / USA TODAY NETWORK

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San Francisco 49ers

When the 49ers signed wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins to a reserve/future contract with the 49ers this offseason, the move largely flew under the radar.

He signed on January 7 -- two days after the 49ers' season ended. And they signed him off the New York Giants' practice squad. Which means there's no guarantee that Hodgins will make the 49ers' 53-man roster. He might land on their practice squad. But he has a legitimate chance to make the team and contribute to the offense.

Hodgins is 26. The Bills drafted him with a sixth-round pick in 2021. And in 2022, the Giants claimed him off waivers, and he went on to catch 37 passes in 10 regular season games in New York that season. Then in the playoffs, he had eight catches for 105 yards and 1 touchdown in a win over the Vikings. So he has a resume.

Last season, Hodgins spent most of his time on the Giants practice squad. He appeared in just three games and caught a mere two passes. But in 2023, he started 9 games and caught 21 passes. Which means he might be the 49ers' best option to start opposite Jauan Jennings in Week 1.

Ricky Pearsall will start if he's healthy, but he currently has a hamstring injury for the second time in his young career. The 49ers also have veteran Demarcus Robinson, but he probably will be suspended for the first few games. And Brandon Aiyuk doesn't seem likely to be ready for the start of the season.

That leaves Hodgins, Jacob Cowing who has four career catches and rookies.

I like Hodgins' chances.

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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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