Many "experts" are predicting a breakout season from second-year wide receiver Dante Pettis. But maybe they should be looking a bit further down the San Francisco 49ers depth chart to find another player on the verge of a big year.
Trent Taylor's 2018 season was unspectacular, especially when you look at the rookie season he had. Taylor, however, was dealing with the lasting effects of offseason back surgery. He wasn't anything near 100 percent, and you could tell.
Taylor is healthy now, and he's been having an impressive training camp. He is easily one of the most consistent targets for 49ers quarterbacks on the practice field. Taylor is redeveloping that chemistry he had with Jimmy Garoppolo as a rookie. In fact, no receiver has been targeted more by Garoppolo through the 10 training camp practices so far.
Maybe it's the often forgotten Taylor, not Pettis, who is poised to shock a lot of people this year. Maybe it's both. Wouldn't that be nice for the 49ers offense?
Cornerback Richard Sherman recently made a rather bold statement about Taylor, which goes to show how highly the third-year receiver is regarded.
"Trent Taylor, man, is lightyears ahead of where he was last year," Sherman said on Tuesday. "He's back, growing from his rookie year when he had that incredible year. This year, his back isn't hurting him. You can see his explosion, his dynamic, his suddenness. He'll probably catch 80, 90 balls, I would assume. I'm excited to see it."
One person who is not too excited about all of the new hype surrounding Taylor is Taylor himself. He joined KNBR on Wednesday and discussed the training-camp enthusiasm resulting from his play.
"I don't like all the hype, honestly," Taylor told Mark Willard. "I wish everybody would kind of chill out because now I've got all these expectations coming at me.
"But seriously, I've been feeling good out there at camp. It's been a good feeling after the season I had last year. I still haven't done anything yet, so it's just all hype, it's all talk, and I still have to go prove it whenever Sundays come around."
Garoppolo, by the way, is doing whatever he can to rekindle that chemistry he had with Taylor in 2017, even if that means putting in some extra work.
"We stay after practice, and we talk through some stuff every day," Garoppolo told reporters on Wednesday, "run a couple extra routes, and I think those little things like that, just talking the same language and seeing the defense the same way. He has a unique ability of seeing the defense like a quarterback and not many receivers can do that. It's a nice luxury to have."
Taylor is as close to a lock to make the 53-man roster as you can find on the team. His impressive training camp has solidified that. But the wide receiver competition going on around him is one of the more intriguing offseason battles in Santa Clara.
The team drafted two rookies in Deebo Samuel and Jalen Hurd. Dante Pettis was a second-round selection last year. Marquise Goodwin is the most experienced receiver on the roster, and it doesn't hurt that he might be the fastest player on the team — maybe even in the NFL. Then you have names like Kendrick Bourne and Richie James, who have been praised by the coaching staff.
The team might end up cutting some good talent.
"It's pretty wild how deep a group we have right now," Taylor said. "I've never seen a more competitive room for positions. I know when they cut it down to the 53-man roster, there's going to be some guys who are definitely capable of playing here but are going to have to be let go and are going to go be successful somewhere else.
"Hopefully that's not me, but it's been great having that competition, though. It definitely pushes us just within our room. It pushes everybody on a daily basis. You go to sleep every night knowing that if you don't bring it the next day, then somebody can easily take your spot."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Taylor below.
