Jauan Jennings spent his first NFL season on the San Francisco 49ers practice squad. He didn't get on the field for a regular season game until 2021, when he caught 24 passes for 282 yards, getting into the end zone five times.
Last season, the wideout hauled in 35 receptions for 416 yards but had only one touchdown. He added four receptions for 67 yards in the playoffs.
Jennings hopes for more this season, looking to break out and prove his worth before becoming a restricted free agent next year. What are his goals heading into his fourth NFL season?
"First and foremost, I want to score a lot of touchdowns," Jennings recently told David Lombardi of The Athletic. "I want to get into that paint. I want to experience a lot more touchdown celebrations and with that comes winning games as well and eventually topping it off with a Super Bowl ring."
That last one isn't just an individual goal. It's a team goal. The 49ers have participated in three NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl over the past four seasons. They haven't been able to get over that championship hump.
According to Pro Football Focus, Jennings has been responsible for converting 31 third downs in his time with the 49ers, making him a reliable weapon in those situations.
"I think it starts with his competitiveness," former 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said last December of Jennings' success on third downs. "What he shows in practice every day, he wants the ball.
"I think, as a quarterback, you could see that in a receiver if he wants the ball or if he doesn't. If a guy has a clear-out route and he's just running it to clear out, there's a difference between that and a guy who's running it to get the ball, and Jauan always wants the ball. And that's the type of guy I want to throw it to."
Last offseason, head coach Kyle Shanahan expressed confidence in the now-26-year-old receiver.
"I'm extremely confident in Jauan," he said. "I think if anyone watched our games at the end of [the 2021 season], not many people covered him. He got open, he had aggressive hands, he got up the field, he blocked well."