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Is Wide Receiver Really a Huge Need for the 49ers?

Sure, the 49ers could draft another receiver this year. But they don't have to.

Grant Cohn

Dec 30, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (14) catches a pass during the second quarter against the Detroit Lions at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images
Dec 30, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (14) catches a pass during the second quarter against the Detroit Lions at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images
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The 49ers just traded Deebo Samuel and might trade Brandon Aiyuk as well soon. Surely, wide receiver is one of the 49ers' biggest needs entering the upcoming draft, right?

Actually, not necessarily.

The 49ers already have Jauan Jennings, who was Pro Football Focus' 14th-highest-graded wide receiver last season. He's elite at moving the chains, making contested catches and blocking, he's in the prime of his career and he's affordable. His cap number in 2025 will be $4.258 million, which is nothing for a receiver of his caliber.

The 49ers also have Ricky Pearsall, their first-round pick last season. He missed the first six games of the season after getting shot in the chest, but he finished the season strong. In the 49ers' final two games, he caught 14 passes for 210 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. He looked explosive. And he's also extremely affordable. His 2025 cap number will be less than $2.9 million.

The 49ers also have Demarcus Robinson, whom they just signed to a two-year, $8 million deal. Robinson had 505 yards and 7 touchdowns last year for the Rams -- he's a good player. The 49ers didn't sign him to do nothing.

They also have Jacob Cowing, who stepped up nearly every time the 49ers gave him an opportunity to play offense last season.

Finally, the 49ers still have Aiyuk. And they might not find a trade partner for him this year while he's recovering from a gruesome knee injury.

So sure, the 49ers could draft another receiver this year. But they don't have to.

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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.

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