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The 49ers receiving corps may get a boost from an unlikely veteran source. San Francisco still needs to figure out its No. 3 WR situation following Kendrick Bourne’s exit in free agency, and a lot of the buzz on a replacement has revolved mostly around Travis Benjamin, Jalen Hurd and Richie James. Offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel on Wednesday offered another name: Mohamed Sanu.
Sanu in a limited OTA sample open to reporters played well enough to catch the eye of one media member who asked McDaniel about the 31-year-old receiver. The new OC’s response made it clear Sanu is very much going to be in the mix for a starting job in training camp.
“Mohamed Sanu is a player that we have history with, not just last year briefly, but in Atlanta for 2016. And, I think Mohamed Sanu serves as a good vision for a lot of the young guys because this dude came back in great shape and with something to prove,” McDaniel said. “You can tell that he doesn’t expect anything that to be given to him, and he’s trying to earn his spot on this team. So it was very exciting to see him perform. He was doing very well. And, if he comes back to training camp in that same shape, he’s going to be a guy that is going to be tough to beat out for that final 53 roster.”
Sanu last year was coming off an ankle injury when he signed with the 49ers prior to Week 2. He played in three games and caught one ball for nine yards in 40 offensive snaps. He was let go by the 49ers and caught on with Detroit for seven games, where he hauled in 16 receptions for 178 yards and one touchdown.
Now he’s back in the Bay Area almost two years removed from an ankle injury that slowed him in 2019, and it appears heading into camp he’s staking his claim to a roster spot.
Having a big-bodied possession receiver who knows head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense would be a fine addition to an otherwise unproven receiving corps. If Sanu continues playing well, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him secure the No. 3 WR spot out of camp behind Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel. And if he continues playing well and gets outplayed by another pass catcher that snags the third receiver spot, then San Francisco will be in good shape at a position that looked relatively thin going into the offseason.
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