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Projecting the 49ers' Depth Chart at Wide Receiver

Wide receiver is one of the weaker positions currently on the 49ers.
Grant Cohn|
Dec 30, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) during the game against the Detroit Lions at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images
Dec 30, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) during the game against the Detroit Lions at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

Wide receiver is one of the weaker positions currently on the 49ers.

They traded Deebo Samuel this offseason and probably won't have Brandon Aiyuk when the regular season starts because he's recovering from knee surgery. So the starters probably will be Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall.

Jennings had a breakout season in 2024, recording career highs in games started (10), catches (77), yards (975) and touchdowns (6). Ideally, he's suited to line up in the slot because he's slow and isn't a threat to run by any NFL cornerback. But he's big, he's tough and he's one of the best wide receivers in the league when it comes to making contested catches. He will be the starting X receiver.

Pearsall had a quiet rookie season after getting shot and missing the first six games, but he exploded during the final two games of the season. Now, he most likely will be the starting Z receiver in place of Deebo Samuel.

Pearsall isn't nearly as effective after the catch as Samuel, but he's much better at getting open and catching the ball. If he stays healthy, he could lead the team in receiving yards.

Aiyuk most likely will return midseason. And if he makes a full recovery, he will be the starting X receiver and Jennings will move back to the slot. But it's unclear if Aiyuk ever will be as good as he was before he tore his ACL, MCL and meniscus. It's possible that Jennings is better than him now and Aiyuk will be the third receiver.

Behind those three, the 49ers have Demarcus Robinson who could miss the first few games due to suspension. They also have Jacob Cowing, a second-year player who caught four passes as a rookie, and Jordan Watkins, a rookie. One of those will be the No. 3 receiver while Robinson is suspended and Aiyuk recovers.

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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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