The 49ers aren’t interested in telegraphing what draft prospects they’re targeting, but their meetings at the NFL combine offer a glimpse into how they view their roster leading up to free agency.
San Francisco has met with at least three of the draft’s top wide receivers: LSU’s Justin Jefferson, TCU’s Jalen Reagor and Alabama’s Henry Ruggs. There will likely be more if there aren’t already.
With limited time at the combine to get to chat with players, it stands to reason the 49ers aren’t talking to receivers with the intent of throwing off the scent of their actual draft plans. They’re digging hard into a deep wide receiver class in a year where they pick just once in the top 150 picks.
Combine meetings are typically the first opportunity for teams to get to know a prospect, so we can’t glean a ton from individual meetings. The group of prospects from one position is telling though.
The 49ers have a slew of names on the roster to compete for jobs in the receiving corps in the offseason. However, none of those players have produced consistently at a high level in the NFL. Even if Deebo Samuel builds on his strong rookie season, they’ll need additional weapons at that position if they’re going to maximize their offense.
Affording a talented receiver in free agency is probably out of the question with San Francisco sitting on just $13 million in cap space, so it’d make sense that they aimed at that position early in the draft. They own the 31st pick, but they may trade out of that spot to accumulate more capital later in the draft. Even if they move into the second round, they could still be targeting one of those receivers that slip through the cracks in a deep draft class.
Ultimately the 49ers are going to play their draft plans close to the vest, and we won’t know who they’re targeting until they actually make the picks, but their early meetings with wide receivers tells us the position could get a significant investment for the third time in as many drafts.