{"id":200561,"date":"2026-03-02T14:32:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T14:32:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/200561\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T14:32:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T14:32:26","slug":"49ers-need-speed-producton-at-wide-receiver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/200561\/","title":{"rendered":"49ers need speed, producton at wide receiver"},"content":{"rendered":"


SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Turn back the clock to just two years ago and a strong argument could be made that there was no position on the San Francisco 49ers<\/a> better or deeper than wide receiver.<\/p>\n

The 2023 Niners boasted a top three of Brandon Aiyuk<\/a>, Deebo Samuel<\/a> and Jauan Jennings<\/a> and, as a group, led the NFL in yards per reception (15.7) and was second in yards after catch per reception (5.9).<\/p>\n

Now, as the 49ers head toward the March 9 early free agent negotiating window, there’s a real chance all three of those wideouts will be somewhere else in 2026. Samuel was traded to the Washington Commanders<\/a> last offseason, Aiyuk will be released, and Jennings is entering unrestricted free agency.<\/p>\n

Without Samuel, Aiyuk and a banged-up Jennings in 2025, 49ers wideouts ranked 21st in the NFL in receiving yards (2,171), 24th in receptions (161), 30th in yards after catch and tied for 25th in touchdowns (10). All of which makes wide receiver the spot on the depth chart worth watching this offseason as the Niners attempt to revamp that room on the fly.<\/p>\n

“We’ve got opportunities to improve ourselves by either bringing back some of the players who have been with us or finding new guys that fit who we want to be, and what we want to be, both in free agency and in the draft,” general manager John Lynch said.<\/p>\n

As those pursuits begin, San Francisco’s greatest need is speed.<\/p>\n

That need for speed is applicable across the roster but showed up in the most glaring ways at wideout in 2025. To wit, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Niners’ average top speed last season was 12.81 mph, the sixth slowest in the NFL. And the only ball carrier to crack 20 mph? Linebacker Dee Winters<\/a> on his 74-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts<\/a> on Dec. 22. Among receivers on the roster, the fastest-recorded speed on a route run was by Marquez Valdes-Scantling<\/a>, who hit top speeds of 19.96 mph and 19.86 mph in Weeks 1 and 6, respectively, on pass plays where the ball was not thrown to him.<\/p>\n

Kendrick Bourne<\/a> recorded the top speed of the season by a Niners receiver on a completed pass, hitting a max of 19.27 mph in that Week 6 game against Tampa Bay. Valdes-Scantling was released in October, and Bourne is a free agent.<\/p>\n

“We noticeably were slower this year than we have been in years past,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “Sometimes that’s substituted for a better football player. That doesn’t mean you’re always worse because of that. But you definitely need more speed out there to handle things week in and week out for some of the situations that come up versus certain schemes.”<\/p>\n

Not counting Aiyuk, whose release is expected at some point in the next couple of weeks, the 49ers receivers under contract for 2026 are Ricky Pearsall<\/a>, Demarcus Robinson<\/a>, Jordan Watkins<\/a>, Jacob Cowing<\/a>, Malik Turner<\/a> and Junior Bergen<\/a>. Only Pearsall and Robinson offered any sort of real production in 2025, though both were hampered by injuries at various points. Pearsall is also the only wideout to surpass 500 receiving yards last season, with Robinson next at 276.<\/p>\n

That leaves Jennings, Bourne and Skyy Moore<\/a> headed toward unrestricted free agency with Jennings the top name on that list. While Jennings’ 643 receiving yards led Niners wideouts last season, that was the lowest total by a San Francisco receiver who led the team since Bourne had 487 in 2018.<\/p>\n

Jennings dealt with shoulder, ankle and rib injuries that kept him out of two games and limited his production in others as he caught just 55 of his 91 targets for a career-low 11.7 yards per reception. It was a sharp decline from the 77 catches for 975 yards he had in 2024. He did, however, set a career high in touchdown catches with nine and would undoubtedly be the most accomplished receiver on the roster if the Niners retain him.<\/p>\n

“He dealt with a lot of injuries throughout the course of the year, but Jauan always plays with a passion,” Lynch said. “We can always count on Jauan. We can move him around. He blocks, he does the little things. You can see by the way the other players respond. He plays the right way, and I think it frustrates other people. He makes us better. We’d love to have him back.”<\/p>\n

But keeping Jennings is a bit complicated when examining it from all angles. For one, Jennings sought a contract extension last offseason with his asking price believed to be north of $20 million per season, a number the Niners were not willing to reach then and will not this time around, even after subtracting Aiyuk’s sizable contract.<\/p>\n

Jennings will be 29 at the start of next season and doesn’t bring the sort of speed the 49ers need to inject at the position. He ran a 4.72 40-yard dash at the combine, and though his lack of speed hasn’t prevented him from producing, losing even a half-step could be detrimental for a player who already doesn’t boast that top gear.<\/p>\n

At his end-of-season media session, Jennings didn’t sound like a player expecting to return to San Francisco. After brushing off questions about free agency and saying “we’ll see what it’s like” to hit the open market, he was asked what his time with the Niners has meant to him.<\/p>\n

A seventh-round pick, No. 217 overall in 2020, Jennings got choked up as he looked back on his time with the 49ers.<\/p>\n

“It means everything,” Jennings said. “It’s home. It quickly turned into home and a run I’ll never forget, for sure.”<\/p>\n

If Jennings does land elsewhere, the 49ers will have multiple needs at the position. In the unlikely event that a franchise caliber wideout such as Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson<\/a> or the New York Jets’ Garrett Wilson<\/a> becomes available, it’s safe to assume the Niners would be at the front of a presumably long line of bidders.<\/p>\n

More realistically, however, the 49ers will be searching for dependable options in free agency who won’t break the bank. Indianapolis’ Alec Pierce<\/a>, Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans<\/a>, Green Bay’s Romeo Doubs<\/a> and the Giants’ Wan’Dale Robinson<\/a> are the cream of the free agent crop, though it remains to be seen how many will even hit the open market. Samuel is also a free agent, though a reunion in San Francisco is unlikely.<\/p>\n

Under Shanahan and Lynch, the 49ers haven’t spent significant resources at the position in free agency. They signed veteran Pierre Garcon to a five-year, $47.5 million deal amid a massive rebuild in 2017, a deal that still stands as the largest the Shanahan\/Lynch pairing has doled out to a free agent wideout.<\/p>\n

If the 49ers are going to get involved with any of the top wideouts on this year’s market, they’re going to have to be willing to exceed that number, perhaps substantially. Two years ago, that wouldn’t have even been a consideration, but once Aiyuk’s $30 million per year extension is off the books, the 49ers have no choice but to at least kick the tires on a major addition on the outside.<\/p>\n

“Those things are complicated,” Lynch said. “With the cash that comes, there comes cap acceleration and things of that nature. But yes, it obviously does affect things.”br\/]<\/p>\n

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