Wide receivers thread

Much has been written about OL, DL, RBs, QBs, WRs(individually), LBs, TEs and coaches of all above. A search of "Wide receivers" came up empty.

So if i missed it , mods please move to appropriate place. Meantime:

We have spent good draft capital plus FA, trades, to bring top flite WRs here. To date the #1WR has seemed elusive...altho perhaps Kyle-ball may not necessarily need a #1. But looking at the TE position, it is obvious that a #1 TE (ok, George was all pro as a rook), but his contribution is massive. So sure it would be great to have such a talent at WR also.
OTOH, maybe another TE of equal talent may be what the 9ers really need. The 3 TE looks we saw frequently against Ravens was impressive...and effective, too. So who knows.

But, one thing noticeably different in last few games has been the "sudden" moves to get open that just were not there 7-8 games ago. Not sure when this took hold, (it obviously is being taught by WR coaching staff), but the in-out -in move has been on display as of late. Just watching a clip of Bourne in the EZ (in superrdome) where he ran his route, was covered, and then faked and baked to get open while JimmyG kept the play alive by dancing to his left. Sure enough, Bourne broke back toward mid EZ and JG put one up high where only Bourne could get it....we just haven't seen that in recent times.

Perhaps WRs are mimicking kittle with the in-out-in moves of #85 plus all the other bakes and shakes he uses to get open. Sanders is good w/ good fakes, and Debo has been using fakes as part of his routes in recent games. Bourne is doing well wth fakes. 6-7 games ago we had more "banana" routes run by WRs which failed to get open ...no surprise there. Frankly we had some talented WRs but they just zoned out when it came to throwing in fakes. Now tho, it seems that our guys have suddenly gotten religion, and are starting to make fakes part of their routes.

I don't know why now, nor do i care. But seeing those fakes, good kittle type fakes, is becoming the routine rather than the rarity on WR routes. And as we have seen, the WR are now getting open way more than before. Previously kyle may have worked more on scheme to get open but no reason our WRs couldn't have a fake or two as part of their routes. Kyle has said, "just run the route and you will be open". Most of the time that has happpened. But adding the good fakes also, just increases the chance of a WR getting open.

Which brings us to RZ and WRs. I assumed we would once again have problem with RZ this yr. . But nope...kyle came up with a better answer. Score early and often from 20, 30 , 35 yards out as well as inside the 10. The dreaded RZ = no TD myth has crashed and burned. Kyle fixed that by scoring from anywhere on the field , making actual RZ scoring just one of many ways we score. Obvious...but still... Pretty clever. And WRs making good fakes on routes has had a good part to do wth that also.

When do we bring back Jordan Matthews?

^^^^is he healthy...i mean healthy enough to play 100%? From my standpoint the more the merrier...but in week 15, guys gotta be healthy of they can't help us.

Bourne homer here. He's been very good the last couple weeks

As long as Sanders, Samuel, and Bourne stay healthy, they are good enough for us to go all the way. I doubt there is anyone else out there (either on the roster or not), that will make any difference.

DEE-BO!...DEE-BO!...DEE-BO!!!!!!

I like our group right now, 84, 17 and 19 are lighting it up and throw in 13 from Middle Tennessee State, home of Don Griffin.

Originally posted by NinerBuff:

As long as Sanders, Samuel, and Bourne stay healthy, they are good enough for us to go all the way. I doubt there is anyone else out there (either on the roster or not), that will make any difference.

Maybe i was asleep at the switch, but is sure seems these magnificent 3 sometime in the last 6-7 weeks started working fakes into their routes, until up to today, when all 3 seem to be using fakes virtually all the time and with much greater efficacy. Maybe they used these fakes before, but if so, not so that it stood out. #85 on the other hand was using fakes from day 1 and i wonder if he may not have had some effect on our 3 WRs now.

Kyle is famous for saying , "if you follow my plan, you WILL be open". His schemiing DOES get a WR open, but with fakes it seems JG now has now more than 1 guy really open. And that may have been going on all along but no doubt , fakes and WRs should be an every play dictum. There are a number of plays that have been replayed where JG obviously had more than 1 guy open. And it just seems that WR and fakes are a big part of that.

I don't care why, i just am glad to see it. Even with jets like Richie, a fake, shake and bake before turning up the speed dial would not be wasted. I don't specifically recall Richie using fakes but do recall a blur once the ball is snapped. But with our 3 starters....fakes have made their routes way more successful. Kudos to coaching staff of WRs to get these guys all using them. This can only help us in the coming weeks during playoff run.

Several things we really need to know before FA and certainly before draft is :

Is TT ready to start back where he left off? And wlll his back hold up.

What is petiis's status. Has he shown his desire to be all 9ers all the time... or not. And if so, can he catch in trafffic? Can he use moves to get open? Is he our kind of WR? Lot of questions and it's all up to pettis himself.

Hurd....can he stay healthy. If healthy this guy would have us as SB favorites by a bunch. But can he get and stay healthy . Major league question.

Richie...can he be our jet? Is he that good a WR along with good hands ? Can he take Goodwin's place?

Could Bourne end up our #1 or will we do same as this yr's end....go with Bourne/Sanders/Samuel and forget about who is #1. There's no rule anywhere stating you have to have a designated #1. We've done pretty well this yr with this crew. All good hands guys , all have moves.

Don't forget we got best TE in the world at present, both ball handler and blocker...and Rb. Could Dwelley possibly become our next iteration of George? He has shown good signs and i love his desire to get his RAC or reach the 1st down marker.

What about keeping our 3 starters we have above, and instead of adding another WR, add another WR/RB/TE...in the kittle mold tho he won't be anywhere near as good.

And why arent' we using Toilolo more? Injury? The guy can block like a mutha but he can catch also.

Put a line below the above and add it up, and i see us going for a premier TE and NO WR in FA/draft....and see how DWelley does with more snaps( he could be used right now, to be honest.). See if Hurd heals up and is dependable. See what TT still has or doesn't . Give Richie a real shot at being our jet. Go with out 3 starter WRs right now but go ahead and find that OL who also played TE in college. That sure seems to be the best background for a kittle like TE.

So those are the issues re: WRs, and i could see us standing pat. But I really like the idea of another TE/RB/WR if there is one out there. The rest depends on how guys respond after season and next one begins. I missed a couple WRs, but you get the idea.

My guess is that our WR are better because of Sanders. We have a young group of receivers, and while training staff can tell you how to play the game, seeing a Pro Bowl talent perform in practice is probably a better teacher than the training staff. If I am right, it makes the wisdom of giving up a 3rd for Sanders an even better deal.

Originally posted by Curlin:
DEE-BO!...DEE-BO!...DEE-BO!!!!!!

I like our group right now, 84, 17 and 19 are lighting it up and throw in 13 from Middle Tennessee State, home of Don Griffin.

Did not know this. Cool 49ers connection there.

#13 needs more opportunities!

Originally posted by pasodoc9er:

Several things we really need to know before FA and certainly before draft is :

Is TT ready to start back where he left off? And wlll his back hold up.

What is petiis's status. Has he shown his desire to be all 9ers all the time... or not. And if so, can he catch in trafffic? Can he use moves to get open? Is he our kind of WR? Lot of questions and it's all up to pettis himself.

Hurd....can he stay healthy. If healthy this guy would have us as SB favorites by a bunch. But can he get and stay healthy . Major league question.

Richie...can he be our jet? Is he that good a WR along with good hands ? Can he take Goodwin's place?

Could Bourne end up our #1 or will we do same as this yr's end....go with Bourne/Sanders/Samuel and forget about who is #1. There's no rule anywhere stating you have to have a designated #1. We've done pretty well this yr with this crew. All good hands guys , all have moves.

Don't forget we got best TE in the world at present, both ball handler and blocker...and Rb. Could Dwelley possibly become our next iteration of George? He has shown good signs and i love his desire to get his RAC or reach the 1st down marker.

What about keeping our 3 starters we have above, and instead of adding another WR, add another WR/RB/TE...in the kittle mold tho he won't be anywhere near as good.

And why arent' we using Toilolo more? Injury? The guy can block like a mutha but he can catch also.

Put a line below the above and add it up, and i see us going for a premier TE and NO WR in FA/draft....and see how DWelley does with more snaps( he could be used right now, to be honest.). See if Hurd heals up and is dependable. See what TT still has or doesn't . Give Richie a real shot at being our jet. Go with out 3 starter WRs right now but go ahead and find that OL who also played TE in college. That sure seems to be the best background for a kittle like TE.

So those are the issues re: WRs, and i could see us standing pat. But I really like the idea of another TE/RB/WR if there is one out there. The rest depends on how guys respond after season and next one begins. I missed a couple WRs, but you get the idea.

Originally posted by fryet:

My guess is that our WR are better because of Sanders. We have a young group of receivers, and while training staff can tell you how to play the game, seeing a Pro Bowl talent perform in practice is probably a better teacher than the training staff. If I am right, it makes the wisdom of giving up a 3rd for Sanders an even better deal.

Sanders for a 3rd is no longer even mentionable. It was a clean sweep bonanza and without him we aren't where we are today. Maybe not even in the playoffs. Our WRs ahve had Geo to learn from all yr with his moves, but he's not a WR. Sanders is. And no question he has had the other two guys watching and learning. Come next yr, i will be surprised if we add at WR, in that we got so much talent on IR...or PUP. But i sure could see that Hurd type pick, only this time healthy...adn what if Hurd retruns to play? We will be loaded at the ball catching position, because we also have Brieda, Coleman, and Mostert...all very good hand guys.

My concern now is making it thru these next 3 weeks , regrouping and seeing if we can still field a team. One consolation...we aren't the only ones

As far as receivers go I don't think that adding in a fake here and there are the reason for their success this late in the season. I definitely think adding Emmanuel Sanders is a major factor in the groups overall improvement. He immediately became our number one receiver in the sense that he was an established pro with a very respectable resume. He had an immediate connection with jimmy G. He put up yards and touchdowns immediately and opposing teams had to game plan for him. The young guys like borne and samuels got to learn by watching a veteran in practice and team meetings which could have helped their progression. Before the sanders trade nobody separated themselves as a clear dependable number one receiver across multiple games. But after adding sanders they didn't have to focus on becoming the leader of the wr corps and the number one. Sanders veteran presence and his accomplishments immediately put him in that role. Thus the younger guys just had to continue trying to improve their game and make the most of their opportunities and both borne and samuels have done that recently. The group of them now work very well and in complementary roles.

Feel like we should bump this thread since wr has been a hot topic this offseason.
We have some serious potential at receiver now, and there are going to be some tough choices to be made by Lynch and Kyle.
Lets start with the safe guys, I think Deebo, aiyuk, and Bourne are the safest to make the roster. Plain and simple.
Trent Taylor is someone I really liked and hope he can stay healthy but I think there are better guys on this team that might outperform him so he could be on his way out in my honest opinion.
Pettis has been the whipping boy of this site and he kind of deserves it. I see him as a guy that grew up pampered with a pro athlete dad and probably got complacent after a decent rookie year. I think he can do things that Jeudy can do as far as great route running and good speed, but its all about the mental makeup. If it clicks he can show why Kyle traded up for him, if not he's gone. It was obvious he was in the dog house last year.
Hurd is the biggest unknown. He could be that big receiver that we have desperately wanted since forever and showed nice promise during the preseason. Of course a back injury is something scary and they say he's fully recovered, but I wanna see that from my own 2 eyes. I have high hopes for him if he does come back fully healthy.
Travis Benjamin could be the guy that sneaks into this roster because of his return ability, vet presence and familiarity of shanahans system. I think he is a solid player than can be a solid contributor for us if he makes it.
Richie James Jr is someone I really really liked when we picked him a couple of years ago. I felt like everytime he made a catch on offense it goes for a big gain, idk why he hasn't gotten any more opportunities. He is a good returner but had a bum superbowl performance, hoping he can bounce back from that. We have a lot of guys that are capable of returning, I hope if there is a preseason he gets the chance to shine because I think he has something there, if not we got guys that can return the ball as well.
Jennings was a really intriguing pick. I thought he should've been picked higher but because of some off the field issues at Tenn he probably. got bumped down a couple of ticks. I love his ability to break tackles, his physicality, and his competitive spirit and I think he can be a monster in the slot. I just hope any character issues are exaggerated and/or tolerable because he is a type of receiver I really wanted as a niner for a long time.

It's a talented but very young group of receivers, I am looking forward to any surprises and who is going to step up in this group.

I bet Benjamin surprises people and makes the 53. He's the vet of the group, knows the offense already and has return abilities too.

If Benjamin makes the 53, then Taylor+James are probably gone. Curious why we gave that ND guy so much guaranteed, like 90+K, kind of seems like he has a chance, but might just be a PS guy. Pettis to me might be on the outs, if so, I hope he does good in pre season so we can get a 2021 draft pick for him, even if it's like a 6th or 7th, something is better than nothing. Taylor might be a guy the Pats would like, we might be able to get a 6th or 7th from them, they have like a million picks next year.