The 49ers enter the offseason with several question marks at wide receiver – a position they’ve been unable to find stability at since head coach Kyle Shanahan arrived in 2017. A mid-season trade for Emmanuel Sanders last year helped lift the receiving corps to a championship level. With Sanders set to hit free agency though, the 49ers once again find themselves looking for answers at wide receiver. The good news is they may not have to look far to find them.
Trent Taylor and Jalen Hurd were supposed to be major role players in the 49ers’ offense last season. Taylor, a third-down conversion machine out of the slot, was one of their best receivers in camp before hurting his foot ahead of the first preseason game. Hurd’s role was less defined, but his size and versatility made him a tantalizing prospect even if he was relegated to the occasional gadget play or goal line look. His season was cut short when he suffered a back fracture before the second preseason contest. Their healthy returns could be the spark the 49ers’ receiving corps needs.
Neither Taylor nor Hurd is equipped to be a No. 1 wide receiver. Taylor is a slot receiver who won’t be on the field enough to garner a heavy share of the targets. Hurd may not even spend most of his time playing receiver given his size and diverse skill set, and Shanahan’s move toward ‘position-less’ football.
However, they’re both capable playmakers who take some of the onus of players like Deebo Samuel and Kendrick Bourne. Samuel would become the de facto No. 1 receiver, and Bourne has carved out a nice role as a threat on third-downs and in the red zone.
Taylor is very good at getting open in small spaces and will be a nice security blanket for Garoppolo. His ability to work underneath and find pockets of space on short and intermediate routes should give the quarterback more confidence to get rid of the ball early and take fewer sacks. Turning a play into a five or six-yard gain instead of an eight or nine-yard loss could be the difference between a win and loss on the scoreboard.
Hurd’s role will depend a lot on how he responds in his return from his back injury. He’s a converted running back who mostly played out of the slot in his one year at receiver in college. His development could easily be stunted some by a back injury that kept him from even traveling to the Super Bowl in Miami.
If he does bounce back though and rounds into a player who can line up at multiple spots while also providing a threat as a runner and a blocker – he could quickly turn into a significant piece of the 49ers’ offense.
With light draft capital, a small free agent budget, and pressing needs at other positions, the 49ers won’t have a lot of opportunities to rebuild their receiving corps. They might retain Sanders depending on how his market develops, but it’s hard to believe they invest another pick on a receiver in the first two days of the draft after using three such picks on the position in the last two years.
Taking a receiver later in the draft seems like a possibility, as does finding a relatively cheap veteran free agent to act as a starter on the opposite side of Samuel. An injection of high-end playmaking ability may not be necessary in the draft or free agency as long as Taylor and Hurd make their returns at full strength.
[vertical-gallery id=653118]
