Terique Owens, the son of Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens, presents an intriguing prospect for the San Francisco 49ers. Recently signed by the team as an undrafted free agent, the former Missouri State receiver faces an uphill battle to secure a spot on the roster. He's likely to compete with numerous others for a place at the bottom of the depth chart.
Complicating matters for the rookie is the fact that the 49ers invested in two wide receivers through the draft—Ricky Pearsall in the first round and Jacob Cowing in the fourth round.
Terique's father has been forthright with him, emphasizing that his journey to the NFL would likely involve fighting for a job as an unrestricted free agent. While he lacks experience, having only made 46 receptions in three seasons with Missouri State, he showed promise in 2023, averaging 18.9 yards per catch while accumulating 528 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
Terrell joined Bay Area radio station 95.7 The Game on Monday to discuss his son's attributes that could aid his transition from college to the professional level.
"Number one, the physical attributes," Terrell stated on "The Morning Roast" show. "You think about the long arms, just his size. He's [listed at 6-3], 200 pounds. And as I did, he'll get better, he'll get bigger, he'll get stronger. Obviously, he'll get faster. A lot of people, they're gonna probably sleep on his speed. We've been working on, really, the fundamentals and the basics of route running, the transition, getting in and out of the routes.
"Again, as far as the playmaking ability, [it's] gotta come. Once he gets everything down, he'll go into camp (rookie minicamp) [this] week. He's already started to take some of the online classes with [receivers] coach [Leonard] Hankerson, just to kind of dial in on the plays, things of that nature, just some of the verbiage, and some of the things that I can really assist on—understanding the routes and the formations.
"Those are some of the things, again, we all had to go through as a rookie, and he's going to go through that as well. So again, I've already told him, having me as a dad, it has nothing to do with the playmaking ability or anything of that nature. I told him I'm like having the answers to the test, and so if he's smart enough to actually lean on me, he has a foot up in a leg up on a lot of the competition."
In addition to Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, and Pearsall, the 49ers' roster includes Cowing, Chris Conley, Ronnie Bell, Trent Taylor, Danny Gray, and Tay Martin. Terique aims to set himself apart from his new teammates when rookies first report to the team this week.
"As far as my son is concerned, hey, if he can come in, learn the offense—and that's what I told him first—learn everything first, and then your playmaking ability, that'll take care of itself," Owens added. "Sometimes it's not all about the most athletic. It's all about who knows the most and who's the most reliable. All of that will kind of kind of play itself out."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Terrell Owens below.