The 49ers Had the NFL's Second-Highest-Graded Receiver Duo in 2024

In retrospect, it's hard to fathom how the 49ers lost 11 games this season.
January 1, 2023; Paradise, Nevada, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) celebrates his touchdown scored against the Las Vegas Raiders with wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) during the first half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
January 1, 2023; Paradise, Nevada, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) celebrates his touchdown scored against the Las Vegas Raiders with wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) during the first half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
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In retrospect, it's hard to fathom how the 49ers lost 11 games this season.

Sure, they had key injuries to Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams and Brandon Aiyuk, and those took their toll on the team. But the 49ers also had the seventh-best rushing attack in terms of yards per attempt, plus they had the NFL's second-highest-graded receiver duo in George Kittle and Jauan Jennings according to Pro Football Focus.

Kittle was the highest-graded tight end in the NFL at 92.1, and Jennings was the 14th-highest-graded wide receiver at 83.1. The only team with a receiver duo that had a higher composite grade than Kittle and Jennings was the Buccaneers with Mike Evans (89.0) and Chris Godwin (86.3). And Godwin played in only 7 games. Which means the 49ers' receiver duo arguably was better.

And yet, Brock Purdy had his worst season by far in the NFL. His passer rating was a mediocre 96.1, and he threw 10 interceptions in the second half of games -- second-most behind only Kirk Cousins who threw 11 and got benched. You'd think with the seventh-best rushing attack and the second-best receiver duo that Purdy would play much better and make the playoffs, but he didn't.

If Purdy truly were a franchise quarterback, his supporting cast would have been good enough for him to have a winning record this season. But Purdy isn't good enough to be the man in the 49ers' offense -- that's Christian McCaffrey. Without McCaffrey carrying the team, Purdy is ordinary.

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Grant Cohn
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.