Despite Recent Signings, Questions Still Surround the 49ers’ Wide Receivers

This past week, it was confirmed Jalen Hurd tore his ACL while rehabbing on a side field during training camp. Hurd is just one of many blows that the 49ers wide-receiver group, the least experienced group on the team, has suffered this offseason.

Going back to just a few months ago, the front office was eager to get to work with their ideal wide outs.

Post draft, the team had the following 12 receivers:

Deebo Samuel
Kendrick Bourne
Brandon Aiyuk
Jalen Hurd
Trent Taylor
Dante Pettis
Richie James Jr.
Travis Benjamin
Jauan Jennings
Shawn Poindexer
Chris Thompson
Chris Finke

Between late April to now, there has been major shuffling around with the receivers listed above. Hurd is out for the year, Samuel is recovering from a broken foot and James is recovering from a broken wrist. Benjamin opted out of the 2020 season. Chris Thompson and Chris Finke, an undrafted rookie from Notre Dame, were both released.

The additions to counter the subtractions are: Tavon Austin, J.J. Nelson, and Jaron Brown. Yippie. While Austin, Nelson, and Brown have all made an impact in the NFL, none of them are that reassuring veteran receiver I still think the team would benefit from.

Looking ahead to the upcoming season, the greenness of the team’s receivers remains a concern. It may not be the biggest concern, as that award may go to the injuries within the interior of the o-line, lack of pass rushing depth, or run defense. But it is still a concern.

Undoubtedly, the receiving group has talent. That is not up for debate. But talent does not always translate to production or even improvement. Mind you, this is a team starting their “Revenge Tour,” and has plans to get right back to the Super Bowl and win it.

I asked former 49ers wide receiver Mike Shumann if he is confident and comfortable with the current 49ers’ receivers.

“I was confident until the injuries started happening," Shumann said. "You can’t count on Trent Taylor staying healthy. Jalen Hurd now falls in that category. Deebo (Samuel) is hurt… They picked up two or three receivers since this, so that tells me right there Kyle’s (Shanahan) not that confident in this group. Only because of lack of experience. I think they all can be NFL receivers. But we just don’t have the experience at that position. With that said, no, I’m not comfortable with them being a Super Bowl contending wide receiver group.”

Career stats of the 49ers’ core receivers (regular season only):

Kendrick Bourne (2017-2019): 88 receptions - 1,102 yards - 9 touchdowns
Deebo Samuel (2019): 57 receptions - 802 yards - 3 touchdowns
Trent Taylor (2017-2019): 69 receptions - 645 yards - 3 touchdowns
Dante Pettis (2018-2019): 38 receptions - 576 yards - 7 touchdowns

Aside from Tavon Austin and Jaron Brown, no other receiver on the team has over 100 career catches. Before the team signed Austin and Brown, they were the only team in the NFL without at least one receiver reaching the century mark in receptions.

George Kittle helps out this receiving group a lot, as he is obviously the number one pass-catching threat. But what happens when he is double teamed and opposing defenses are locked in on stopping the seventh-best player in the NFL? Who will the team turn to in the air?

This is just one of many questions that pertains to the receivers. In fact, there are questions regarding each and every receiver:

Deebo Samuel: Will he fully recover from his broken foot this season, and be the same explosive player we saw last year?
Kendrick Bourne: How will he handle a significantly larger role?
Brandon Aiyuk: How quickly can he catch on to the playbook? How soon will he have an impact on the field?
Jalen Hurd: Can he stay healthy? Answered -- he can’t.
Trent Taylor: Can he stay healthy?
Dante Pettis: Will he break out of his sophomore slump, and be the receiver we saw the tail end of his rookie year?
Jauan Jennings: Can he be another late-round gem, found by John Lynch?
Tavon Austin / J.J. Nelson / Jaron Brown: who makes the team? What happens to the others?
Richie James: Will he ever play for the team again?
Shawn Poindexter: Will he make the practice squad?

So far, one of those questions has been answered. And it's that Hurd can’t stay healthy. While it is easy to be optimistic and have a glass-half-full attitude with some of these questions, it would be ignorant not to consider the other possibility.

The lack of experience at the position could be the downfall for a Super Bowl run, or it may not have the slightest effect on the team at all. Both are very possible.

However, it still seems too risky to let it play out with these receivers. They need more stability, reliability, dependability and consistency from the unit. They don’t have that outside of Bourne.

Last year, the team added Emmanuel Sanders a little less than half way into the season. Maybe they’ll look to do something similar again this year. They should. The only downside is that they are very limited on draft capital, and I’d be reluctant to give up draft picks considering all the free agents the team is set to have next offseason.

The only way to add a legit receiver without trading away assets is through the free agent market. There are three receivers out there who have been better than any receiver on the team, who are just waiting for an opportunity: Josh Gordon, Dez Bryant and Antonio Brown.

These three guys have zero leverage, as they’re desperate to latch on to a NFL team in hopes of rejuvenating their careers. Tavon Austin, J.J. Nelson, and Jaron Brown simply aren’t going to cut it. Signing Gordon, Bryant, or Brown to a prove-it deal makes too much sense.

I said it when Deebo Samuel got hurt, and I’ll say it again now that Hurd is out for the year: Antonio Brown and the 49ers are p-e-r-f-e-c-t for each other.

Follow me on twitter: @NinerNick_22