The 49ers appear to be in the market for some speed at wide receiver. Matt Barrows of the Athletic reported San Francisco touched base on WRs Jakeem Grant, Ray-Ray McCloud and Kalif Raymond as the NFL’s legal tampering period opened Monday morning.
None of those three receivers have been prolific from a production standpoint, but they all bring a level of speed the 49ers have missed at receiver. They all have experience returning kicks as well.
Grant in six seasons with the Dolphins and Bears returned four punts for touchdowns and two kickoffs for TDs. He also caught 100 balls for 1,140 yards and seven touchdowns, and notched 17 carries for 76 yards and a touchdown. Grant has been a Second-Team All-Pro as a return man in each of the last two seasons and made the Pro Bowl at that spot in 2021.
McCloud spent his first two years in Buffalo and Carolina before joining the Steelers the last two seasons. He led the NFL in punt return yards in 2021 and has experience returning kicks as well. McCloud doesn’t contribute much as a receiver though with 64 catches for 390 yards in four years. He did notch a career-high 39 catches for a career-best 277 yards last season.
Raymond has been in the NFL since 2016 and finally found success as a receiver last year with the Lions. Going into 2021 he had 19 receptions for 369 yards and a touchdown in 35 games with the Broncos, Jets, Giants and Titans. Last year with Detroit he posted 48 catches for 576 yards. He’s also spent time as a kick returner.
A field-stretcher who can return kicks seems to be a priority for the 49ers in free agency. They’re also in pursuit of Packers speedster Marquez Valdes-Scantling per Josina Anderson.
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