San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is envisioning having to make a lot of tough decisions when it comes time to cut the San Francisco 49ers roster down to 53 players. One of the more interesting competitions is at wide receiver. The position group is loaded with potential talent but not a whole lot of experience. Just two players have more than two years of NFL experience. They are Marquise Goodwin and Jordan Matthews.
The 49ers signed Matthews on March 14. Many assumed his roster spot is anything but a sure thing with so much young potential at the position. Shanahan, however, offered up a vote of confidence for Matthews on Thursday afternoon, saying the veteran receiver has looked good in training camp.
"He's had a hell of a camp," Shanahan said. "He's done very good in practice. He's been consistent in OTAs. He was very consistent in training camp. And we've seen him a lot on tape before he got here. I've got a lot of confidence in Jordan, and I know we can win with Jordan."
Matthews has only received a handful of snaps during preseason. Shanahan urges fans and the media not to read too much into that. He knows what they have in Matthews. That isn't the case with everyone. Many of the receivers on the roster don't have a whole lot of film on their resume.
"We're trying to find out a little bit more about other guys that we don't know as well," Shanahan explained, "and you've got to give those guys that opportunity. I did wish he played a little bit more versus Denver. We were going to have him go in at F, and then switch him later with (Jalen) Hurd.
"Then Hurd ended up having back tightness. We ended up giving Richie (James) those opportunities, but that says nothing about Jordan. We know what Jordan can do, and we're trying to find out what more these other guys can do."
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been impressed with how quickly Matthews was able to pick up the 49ers' offense.
"Our receivers, they're asked to do a lot of tough things," Garoppolo said. "Blocking in the run game, details on routes, motions, all that stuff. He's done a good job picking it up quickly. He's one of the first guys in, last guys out. He works as hard as anyone I've ever seen, so you've got to tip your hat to him on that."
The 49ers' next preseason game will be on Saturday against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.