It’s hard to step into a better situation than the one Trey Lance will enter when he becomes the 49ers’ starting quarterback. While there’ll be some questions to answer along the offensive line, his receiving corps might be one of the NFL’s best.
Pro Football Focus ranked the league’s pass-catching groups and put San Francisco at No. 6 overall, and in the ‘Elite’ tier behind Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Miami, Tampa Bay and Cincinnati. That ranking, of course relies a lot on Deebo Samuel’s status. From PFF:
Before Samuel took on his “wide back” role toward the tail end of the 2021 season, he was one of the most efficient wide receivers in the league. His 86.9 PFF receiving grade through Week 10 ranked third, behind only Davante Adams and Cooper Kupp.
George Kittle remains one of the league’s few truly elite tight ends, and Brandon Aiyuk emerged from Kyle Shanahan’s doghouse down the stretch to generate a 119.4 passer rating on his 83 targets. And with potential contributions from less established players like Jauan Jennings and rookie Danny Gray out of SMU, this becomes one of the more well-rounded groups in the league on paper.
Samuel’s rushing exploits make it easy to forget his 77 receptions, 1,405 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns last year. His 18.2 yards per reception led the NFL. He showed last year he’s a true No. 1 receiver.
Aiyuk’s emergence at the end of the season is also a good sign for San Francisco. He took over a lot of the pass-catching load Samuel relinquished when his receiving touches turned to carries. Over his final 10 games he had 43 catches for 685 yards and four touchdowns. If he picks up in 2022 where he left off he could push the 1,000-yard mark as the team’s No. 2 receiver.
Adding Kittle to that one-two punch gives the 49ers three legitimate, high-level pass catchers who can impact the game at all three levels and after the catch.
The exciting thing for San Francisco is what’s further down the depth chart. Jennings, Gray and Ray-Ray McCloud all have a legitimate shot at making a difference as the third wide receiver. Given their varying skill sets there could be a moment for every member of that trio. If one emerges as a legitimate WR3 option though, which Jennings certainly did toward the end of last season, we may find San Francisco’s group of pass catchers landing even higher on this list.
