The San Francisco 49ers are going through a bit of a renaissance at the wide receiver position. After a season in which the 49ers battled through a series of tough injuries to win 12 games and win on the road in Philadelphia in the playoffs, several key contributors at the position are set to leave the team.
49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk is the headliner here — after suffering a torn ACL in October of 2024, Aiyuk didn’t play at all in 2025 and stopped communicating with the team. Both 49ers GM John Lynch and 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan have all but confirmed Aiyuk won’t be back with the team next year.
But he’s not the only one. WRs Jauan Jennings and Kendrick Bourne are set to be free agents. They were two of San Francisco’s top weapons on the outside last season. Bringing them back is certainly one path, but the 49ers could also look externally to replace their production.
San Francisco 49ers GM John Lynch on the Wide Receiver Position
GettyCLEVELAND, OHIO – NOVEMBER 30: Jauan Jennings #15 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates with Ricky Pearsall #1 after his touchdown reception against the Cleveland Browns during the fourth quarter at Huntington Bank Field on November 30, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
“Yeah, so obviously Jauan’s a free agent,” Lynch said in his press conference on Thursday. “And we’ve been in good contact with Jauan, we’ll see where that goes. We’ve got some young players [who] we really need to come to the forefront. Jacob Cowing‘s a guy we’ve had and we’ve liked for a couple of years. He hasn’t been able to be on the field much because of his hamstring ailments.”
“You know, Ricky [Pearsall] is a fantastic player,” Lynch continued. “We need to find a way to keep him healthy. He had a tough injury early [last year] and he kept dinging the same thing over and over and over. It was a tough year for him. Ricky’s going to be a fine player. Jordan Watkins has to take big steps. And then we’ve got opportunities to improve ourselves, be either bringing back some of the players that have been with us, or by finding new guys that fit who we wanna be and what we wanna be — both in free agency and in the draft.”
The San Francisco 49ers Will Have Some Wide Receiver Options in the Draft
If the 49ers decide to eschew the wide receiver position in free agency — or even if they bring back someone like Jennings — they’ll have plenty of good receiver options in the draft. This is a talented wide receiver class, and while the top options are likely to be off the board by the time San Francisco picks at No. 27, there’s a strong second tier for them to choose from.
Those options include Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr., N.C. State’s KC Concepcion, Washington’s Denzel Boston, and Louisville’s Chris Bell, among others. The 49ers don’t have to burn a first-round pick on a receiver, either, as this is a deep group with plenty of talented options available on Day 2 and even Day 3 of the draft.
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