Considering that Brandon Aiyuk would not be fully healed from his torn ACL, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer recently responded to a mailbag query regarding whether the San Francisco 49ers should sign an experienced wide receiver.
According to Breer, the 49ers are prepared to deal with Aiyuk’s injury: They’re ready for the potential that Brandon Aiyuk won’t be fully recovered for the start of the season. Jauan Jennings is a dependable complementary player, Ricky Pearsall will undoubtedly be given an opportunity to play a larger part in the offense, Jacob Cowing is a promising young player, DeMarcus Robinson is joining from the Rams, and George Kittle and Ricky Pearsall will have some depth behind them.
There is a lot of room for improvement, particularly if Christian McCaffrey can settle into a rhythm. In order to make up for the loss of Aiyuk, the 49ers also re-signed Kyle Juszczyk, who played 191 snaps in 2024 as an inline tight end, another 96 in the slot, and an extra 50 out wide.
Even if Aiyuk is healthy, the 49ers have added 12 individuals over the past two seasons. Brock Purdy has actually thrown more play-action passes from under center than any other quarterback in the last two seasons:
Despite missing two games last season, he had two more than Jared Goff. Compared to Jordan Love and Jared Goff, Purdy made nine more attempts in 2023. You only need two wideouts on the field, as the video above illustrates.