"3rd and Jauan" Jennings l WR Tennessee, signs with Vikings

Originally posted by Dshearn:
why?

His college production.

Its not just that he was a top 5 yardage and top 5 TD threat in the SEC last year, its how he did it. He is not a guy with walk off TDs left and right. A lot of times its difficult to make "speed" transition to the NFL. Year after Year after Year you watch 4.3 guys unable to make the move to the NFL. I think its easier to see Jennings forecasted into a short yardage, red zone threat.

I think that is what has the fan base energized. If the team goes heavy in the rezone, Jennings is not playing out of his element. He does not need a lot of space to do what he does. His entire career has been winning contested balls, he has never had good separation even at the college level. He is that Micheal Irving big body that can post up a CB and out fight for the ball.

Guys like that put pressure on a zone defense and when you factor in his better then average run blocking....the guy looks like a solid red zone tool.

He is a very solid 7th round pick, and I think he will be functional in the NFL.

He was a 7th round pick and they took a flyer on him. Maybe he works out maybe he doesn't. That is how I view it. I agree He bring something they do not have to the WR core. That being size, fight for the ball, and I like that he run hard. However he is slow and sometimes it look like he plays slow. I think all there WR run hard minus maybe Pettis. I have a hard time think there going to keep him on the team to only play inside the 20 yard line vs having a WR that can come in and play the whole field. I'm not sure what there plan is but they draft him with something in mind. Maybe it work maybe not.

Originally posted by 49erF90:
Why not just use one of the tight ends in our roster as tight end. I think we have enough of them.

If Jennings puts on 20 pounds, he'll be a faster Ross Dwelley.

His hands are kinda spotty. I've watched the Alabama game tape and Mayden had some tackles/breakups on him. I'm rooting for the kid because I always love an ultracompetitive passionate guy, but its an uphill battle for him imo.

Im not sure how anyone can say he's a lock to make the roster.

The one thing that he has over other receivers we have, is that he could be the focal point in a wildcat package if kyle ever wants to dial it up. I believe Jennings entered college as a QB.

Originally posted by the_dynasty:

His hands are kinda spotty. I've watched the Alabama game tape and Mayden had some tackles/breakups on him. I'm rooting for the kid because I always love an ultracompetitive passionate guy, but its an uphill battle for him imo.

Im not sure how anyone can say he's a lock to make the roster.

The one thing that he has over other receivers we have, is that he could be the focal point in a wildcat package if kyle ever wants to dial it up. I believe Jennings entered college as a QB.

Yeah, he's definitely not a lock force sure. He's insurance for Hurd. He definitely has a path to make the team if Kyle uses the F position like I expect.

But you can really see Kyle moving more and more to positionless football.

As David Lombardi wrote recently, the 49ers spent a long time looking into that incident and into Jennings' background, going so far as to contact media members who were familiar with the coach-player dynamic at Tennessee at the time. One of the things they discovered: When new coach Jeremy Pruitt took over, he canvassed the Volunteers players about whether Jennings should be reinstated.

"I met with every player of our team when I got here and I asked every one of them to a man: 'Do we need Jauan Jennings on our team?'" Pruitt said. "And every one of 'em said, 'Absolutely, coach.'"

Peters said the 49ers needed to find out what the root of the problem was.

"You're not OK with it, but you need to figure out why it was," he said. "Jauan loves football — loves, loves, loves football. And that comes out when you talk to him and that comes out when you see him play on the field, so that helps. That's not an issue with him. We just had to make sure we were comfortable with everything else."

https://theathletic.com/1803691/2020/05/10/a-deep-dive-into-the-49ers-draft-class-explained-by-top-scout-adam-peters/?source=emp_shared_article

https://theathletic.com/1800386/2020/05/07/ultimate-competitor-how-49ers-wr-jauan-jennings-earned-respect-at-tennessee/

Jennings originally enrolled at Tennessee as a quarterback but quickly shot up the depth chart after the staff converted him to receiver. As a sophomore in 2016, Jennings delivered one of the most dramatic catches in Volunteers' history, a Hail Mary score to beat Georgia at the gun:

"I still remember talking to him on the field after that game," John Brice, then the sideline reporter for Tennessee's radio broadcasts, said in a recent phone interview. "I said, 'Jauan, when did you know that you were gonna catch that ball?'

"And he said: 'As soon as it was in the air.' That's the kind of confidence that he played with on the field, and I found that to be infectious."

Brice said the 49ers "went deep" with their research into Jennings before the draft. Team representatives collecting information on Jennings even reached out to former reporters and others with close knowledge of his background.

"You want Jauan Jennings on your team," Brice said. "Because you're going to be miserable if you play against him for four quarters."

Gotta love that quote after the Hail Mary catch ^ can't make that up, can't coach that

Originally posted by NCommand:
Yeah, he's definitely not a lock force sure. He's insurance for Hurd. He definitely has a path to make the team if Kyle uses the F position like I expect.

But you can really see Kyle moving more and more to positionless football.

if you play multiple positions, how are you position-less?

Originally posted by DonnieDarko:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Yeah, he's definitely not a lock force sure. He's insurance for Hurd. He definitely has a path to make the team if Kyle uses the F position like I expect.

But you can really see Kyle moving more and more to positionless football.

if you play multiple positions, how are you position-less?

LOL

Originally posted by 91til:

Gotta love that quote after the Hail Mary catch ^ can't make that up, can't coach that

That's just a mindset. Like Pettis, you can't just turn that on. It's who you are. I'm glad we got this guy and hope he makes the 53 and he and Hurd present a ton of matchup nightmares.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by 91til:

Gotta love that quote after the Hail Mary catch ^ can't make that up, can't coach that

That's just a mindset. Like Pettis, you can't just turn that on. It's who you are. I'm glad we got this guy and hope he makes the 53 and he and Hurd present a ton of matchup nightmares.

Agreed. I gave you a lot of crap for the Pettis stuff but end of the day it's true. You can't just turn the switch on, you either got it or you don't. Jennings has that.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by 91til:
Gotta love that quote after the Hail Mary catch ^ can't make that up, can't coach that

That's just a mindset. Like Pettis, you can't just turn that on. It's who you are. I'm glad we got this guy and hope he makes the 53 and he and Hurd present a ton of matchup nightmares.

Agreed. I gave you a lot of crap for the Pettis stuff but end of the day it's true. You can't just turn the switch on, you either got it or you don't. Jennings has that.

Yeah, definitely - Jennings has it. Pettis has to show his dog.

I'm 100 percent on the same page with you guys. The "IT" factor can't be found in every person. It can't be teach either. Some people excel in what they do by compensating certain things they lack of (like speed) with things that they can control but hard to sustain like mindset, toughness. I remember Anquan Boldin especially in his early days with the Cardinals. He always wanted to be the go to guy in the red zone to deliver that touchdown or first down. He rarely dropped the ball or produced 0 or negative yards. He will fight for every inches until that last surge of human energy leave his body. If Jennings and Hurd can be like him, we will be the best Red Zone team in the NFL. Well, there's always the word "if".

If we have a preseason, I think Jennings and Finke will surprise people.

I also strongly believe that Klye has greatly improved every year in his choice of WRs. He has done better and knows what he actually wants and needs in his wideouts and we saw the change last season with Deebo and Hurd drafted and now Aiyuk and Jennings. I don't see much of a future in SF with the earlier picks of Pettis, James, or Taylor.

"You know what? Interesting guy. Interesting guy," McCloughan said. "I think there's some talent there, I really do. I think they might have gotten a steal on that one. Now, we'll see. Again, I don't know the person. I don't know if he's wired right. Is he gonna do the little things, is he gonna take care of his body, is he gonna take care of his business off the field? But there's size and talent there.

Do you see him as a big slot receiver in the NFL?

I see him more as a Z (receiver), working-the-middle-of-the-field type guy. I don't see him being a slot guy. I don't see him being quick enough. I see him being a big-body, strong-hands guy. He'll always be in traffic but he'll have success because of his strength and size and toughness. Now, he's got to mentally be that guy, too, and like I said, I don't know him. I don't know if he is that. But if he is, I think it's a good pick.

https://theathletic.com/1796521/2020/05/05/hes-tough-as-s-scot-mccloughan-on-javon-kinlaw-and-the-49ers-draft-class

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

"You know what? Interesting guy. Interesting guy," McCloughan said. "I think there's some talent there, I really do. I think they might have gotten a steal on that one. Now, we'll see. Again, I don't know the person. I don't know if he's wired right. Is he gonna do the little things, is he gonna take care of his body, is he gonna take care of his business off the field? But there's size and talent there.

Do you see him as a big slot receiver in the NFL?

I see him more as a Z (receiver), working-the-middle-of-the-field type guy. I don't see him being a slot guy. I don't see him being quick enough. I see him being a big-body, strong-hands guy. He'll always be in traffic but he'll have success because of his strength and size and toughness. Now, he's got to mentally be that guy, too, and like I said, I don't know him. I don't know if he is that. But if he is, I think it's a good pick.

https://theathletic.com/1796521/2020/05/05/hes-tough-as-s-scot-mccloughan-on-javon-kinlaw-and-the-49ers-draft-class

I hope old Scoty is sober now



It was his 05, 06, 07 drafts that formed the basis for Harbargh's teams. Even 2010. Not so much 08 though: Balmer, Sheila Rachael, Reggie Smith (who), Cody Wallace (did ok in Pitt), Josh Morgan (ok), Larry Grant