49ers building group of pass catchers that creates its own yards

The 49ers are building a group of pass catchers that creates a lot of its own yards.

There may not be a more important stat for the 49ers in 2020 than yards after catch. It’s what they’re building their offense around.

Airing out throws down the field aren’t one of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo’s strengths. He’s money between the hashes and gets rid of the ball quickly when he does opt to throw it. He also has a problem with holding onto the ball for too long and taking unnecessary sacks.

Instead of trying to change the 28-year-old quarterback, head coach Kyle Shanahan is instead gearing the offensive roster to maximize Garoppolo’s strengths. The result is the top two tackle-breaking pass catchers in the NFL last season, and two more draft picks who specialize in yards after catch.

Forcing missed tackles doesn’t necessarily lead to YAC, but it did a season ago for Kittle and Samuel. The tight end finished third in the NFL among all pass catchers with 602 yards after the catch. He was the first non-running back on the list. Samuel was No. 13 in the NFL with 473 – good for fifth among wide receivers. The only receiver with more YAC per reception than Samuel was Tennessee rookie AJ Brown.

This isn’t a coincidence. It’s what Shanahan is building on offense. YAC specialists who’re explosive enough to take advantage of the space created by the scheme, and good enough at breaking tackles to generate additional yardage.

Look no further than the 49ers’ two receiver picks in the 2020 NFL draft. Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings don’t have much in common. Aiyuk went in the first round while Jennings was a seventh-round choice. Aiyuk is a fast, explosive athlete while Jennings ran one of the slowest 40s at the combine for a wide receiver.

The common thread between the two is their after-the-catch ability. Aiyuk led all of college football with 9.9 yards after catch per reception according to Pro Football Focus. Jennings, on the other hand, led all college receivers with a broken tackle on 51 percent of his catches, also per PFF.

This is the direction the 49ers are heading. They’ll still aim to stretch the field vertically from time to time, but a bulk of their passing offense is going to involve the receivers working after the catch. All Garoppolo will have to do is hit his pass catchers in stride and on time and the 49ers offense will thrive.