Grading the 49ers Wide Receivers at the Bye Week

Even with the loss of Brandon Aiyuk, the 49ers have a ton of talent at this position. Now the talent needs to produce more consistently.

Grant Cohn | Oct 30, 2024

Oct 27, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr (1) carries the ball against the Dallas Cowboys during the third quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers have the week off, so let's grade them position by position based solely on what they've done this season. So far, we've graded the quarterback and the running backs.

POSITION: Wide receiver

NAMES: Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, Brandon Aiyuk, Ricky Pearsall, Chris Conley, Jacob Cowing.

GRADE: B

COMMENTS: Brandon Aiyuk was supposed to be the no. 1 wide receiver, but he had just 25 catches and 0 touchdowns in 7 games before going down with a torn ACL and MCL. He clearly was rusty after missing the entire offseason due to a contract dispute. Now he will miss next offseason as he rehabs from a devastating knee injury. It's unclear how good he'll be when he returns.

Deebo Samuel is still a solid no. 2 receiver considering he's averaging an impressive 16.9 yards per catch this season. But he has broken just three tackles and has scored only two touchdowns in seven games, which means he's not the Deebo we're used to.

Jauan Jennings has emerged as a solid no. 2 receiver who can replace Brandon Aiyuk in the starting lineup -- Jennings is averaging 16.2 yards per catch and he has three touchdowns despite missing the past two games with a hip injury.

Ricky Pearsall has played in only two games but already has 7 catches on 9 targets and a 39-yard run. He looks like an explosive no. 3 receiver who has the potential to be much more.

Jacob Cowing is averaging 25 yards per catch. Granted, he has just two catches. Still, he's dangerous and deserves more playing time.

Chris Conley has played 165 snaps on offense and somehow has caught just one pass. It's time for the 49ers to give his snaps to Pearsall and Cowing.

Even with the loss of Aiyuk, the 49ers have a ton of talent at this position. Now the talent needs to produce more consistently.

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Published Oct 30, 2024

GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.