The 2025 49ers Receiving Room is Going to Be Scary

It could be the best unit in the NFL.

December 30, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) is tackled by Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold (0) during the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The 49ers are about to be in an extremely intriguing situation in 2025. No, I’m not talking about a big Brock Purdy extension or free agency, I’m talking about the loaded wide receiver room. They are about to be one of the only teams in the league with 4 legit receiving threats. Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, Deebo Samuel, and Ricky Pearsall. All of these players have shown that they can be efficient as receiving threats, but what needs to happen for each of them to be at their best in 2025?

Brandon Aiyuk

Brandon Aiyuk's season didn't start on the best note. Aiyuk was going through a holdout which led him to miss all of training camp and start the season with nearly no reps with the team. Even with that rough start, Aiyuk showed he was worth it against the Cardinals. Aiyuk had 8 catches for 147 yards, giving him a PFF Offensive Grade of 90. That was one of the highest scores for 49ers wid receivers in the whole season. So Aiyuk started without training camp and was still able to perform. That’s a good sign. Now we will see what Aiyuk looks like with a full training camp and a fully healed ACL & MCL. As long as his new ACL & MCL don’t deteriorate his athleticism, I can only imagine he’ll be even better than he has been before.

Jauan Jennings

Jauan Jennings has been the story of the 49ers wide receiver room this season. Jennings performed well in the Super Bowl last season but didn’t get much playing time before that. All of that changed this season, when in the absence of Brandon Aiyuk, Jennings began to blossom into a premier possession wide receiver. Jennings has amazing hands and can catch nearly any ball thrown his way. He can find small soft spots in the defense to give Brock Purdy an easy throw for easy yardage. He can use his size and frame to take smaller defenders out of the play. What can’t he do? 

The big question for Jauan heading into the offseason will be his usage with a healthy Aiyuk returning. Using Jauan over Aiyuk doesn’t make sense considering they paid Aiyuk all that money. I’m hoping they put Jennings into the slot role and leave Aiyuk on the outside. Then the Niners have a lethal 1-2 punch in deep balls to Aiyuk and quick passes to Jennings over the middle. It caters to both of their strengths and seems like the best way to win some football games.

Deebo Samuel Sr.

Here’s where some people might start to hate me. I still like Deebo on this team. I think Deebo had a tough season, and his podcast plus the Jake Moody slap led the fanbase to turn on him rapidly which took a toll on his mentals. When your mentals are off, and you aren’t performing, nothing is going to improve. Especially when you add a fan base calling for you to be traded all season. With all of that, Deebo has to bounce back next season. He has to remind fans who he is to this team. A leader who can make huge plays across the field. I’d expect to see Shanahan try to dial some plays up for Deebo in the offseason to remind the fans how good he can be at his best. Let’s get rid of Deebo in the backfield, and embrace his route running and ability to break tackles. If the Niners can get that juice out of him, teams would be scared to play them. They’d have to stress about Aiyuk’s ability to get the deep ball, Jennings's quick hands, and Deebo’s bulldozing ability. That seems like too much for any defense to deal with.

Ricky Pearsall

This is where it’s going to be the trickiest. Ricky will be heading into his second season heading into a loaded wide receiver room. It will be tough for him to get reps given all the names here, but when he does get those reps, he’s bound to perform. After having a rookie season during which he got shot in the chest and still showed his talent on the football field, it seems inevitable that a breakout season is imminent. He showed what he could do last week against Detroit when he had 8 catches for 141 yards. When he’s at his best, he is a massive threat. With some more offseason practice, he can be one of the best guys on the team. He has the quickness to beat corners, he has the hands to not drop passes, and his ability to get low to the ground is remarkable. He has all the tools, now he’s got to put it together. If his route running improves and he can create more separation, he’s bound to be a starter in no time.

Is it too early to predict an amazing wide receiver room? It might be, but undoubtedly this unit has the ability and talent to achieve it. The question is, will they?

Download and follow The Cohn Zohn Podcast.