Realistic or Not Realistic: Who Can the 49ers Add at Wide Receiver?

This is big.

Image courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

New year, same story in Santa Clara: the 49ers can’t stay healthy.

San Francisco enters Week 6 with a receiver room stretched thin. Only two of the wideouts from the initial 53-man roster, Mike Evans and Jordan Watkins, got through Sunday’s game in Seattle without leaving with an injury. Brandin Cooks is also healthy, but he was signed after Week 2.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan has already said Deebo Samuel will miss multiple weeks with a hamstring injury. Jacob Cowing, a player who should already be feeling the heat, left Seattle banged up with an ankle issue.

That leaves the Niners to face the Washington Commanders on Monday night with Evans, Cowing (ankle), Cooks and Watkins. That’s thin help for one of the league’s best passing offenses, so here’s a look at who could come to aid the WR room.

Tyreek Hill

Rich Storry-Imagn Images

Probability: 1% — Unrealistic

At his peak, Hill was as dynamic as any playmaker in the league. But he’s coming off a season-ending knee injury in 2025 and still has legal trouble hanging over him. San Francisco would likely prefer a player with less noise around him and no rehab to manage. And if Hill is fully healthy, he’s not a practice-squad candidate. He’d command a 53-man roster spot. I think that's where the 49ers would fall out of Tyreek signing race.

Quentin Skinner

Jason Miller - Getty Images

Probability: 50% — Realistic

If your first reaction was “who?”, fair enough. Skinner turned heads in the Jets’ 2025 preseason and spent the season on their practice squad, catching one pass for 10 yards and a two-point conversion in the regular season. He’s a 6'5" target who can win downfield, and he ran a 4.52 40-yard dash at his pro day. The concern is Shanahan’s long-standing reluctance to trust young receivers who haven’t mastered the nuances of his offense. Skinner got a workout in late September, but the team signed Dante Pettis instead.

DeAndre Hopkins

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Probability: 0.5% — Unrealistic

If Sunday’s win showed anything, it’s the value of a receiver like Evans, whose huge catch radius means the offense doesn’t have to rely on separation. Brock Purdy knows how to take advantage of that and isn’t shy about letting it fly. Hopkins is on the Georgia Tech coaching staff but has made it clear he isn’t retired. Shanahan loves his veterans, but this is a long shot.

Jauan Jennings

Image courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

Probability: 60% — Realistic

The 49ers don’t want to give up draft capital for a receiver. They’d rather save it for an edge rusher or an interior defensive lineman. Still, this fit makes too much sense for John Lynch not to at least call Minnesota. Shanahan values veterans, and a player like Jennings would need almost no time to learn the new playbook. He showed clear frustration Sunday, even with the Vikings off to a 5-0 start. He has just two catches for nine yards on the season, far below his production in recent years, which could open the door for a swap of late-round picks.

Odell Beckham Jr.

AP Photo/Abbie Parr

Probability: 0% — Unrealistic

If Beckham were still a free agent, Shanahan might consider him for the practice squad. But he’s on the Vikings’ practice squad, and I can’t see San Francisco putting him on the 53-man roster. In 2019 the Niners would have jumped at the chance. We’re a long way past that now.

Brian Thomas Jr.

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Probability: 0% — Unrealistic

Getting Thomas would cost a second-round pick at minimum, whatever you think of how things have gone in Jacksonville. His draft classmate Marvin Harrison Jr. just went to Houston with a second-rounder as the main return to Arizona. Thomas has done more than Harrison, so that’s the floor for the Jaguars. If the Niners are spending a second, it should go toward a defensive lineman of Vita Vea or DeForest Buckner caliber.

The Final Word

Don’t expect a splash. Demarcus Robinson, Deebo Samuel and De’Zhaun Stribling are all due back this season, and that matters when weighing a move for a player who would count against the 53-man roster.