SANTA CLARA — Heard the story of the seventh-round pick who morphs into a 49ers’ offensive star? No, not the Brock Purdy story.
Jauan Jennings preceded Purdy’s draft class by two years. And yet there they were Sunday with Jennings catching all three of Purdy’s touchdown passes. They combined for 11 receptions and 175 yards overall, and that still wasn’t enough to prevent a 27-24 loss to the host Los Angeles Rams.
Jennings is eager for Sunday’s encore when the 49ers (1-2) host the New England Patriots (1-2).
“Honestly I go to sleep at night thinking about this last game, because I don’t want to disappoint in the next one,” Jennings said. “I’m not saying I’m going for 175 every week. It’s just making the best out of every opportunity.”
Typically, Jennings is the happy-go-lucky soul who bounds through the locker room with a hop in his step, a smile on his face and a catchy song rattling from his lips.
On the field, he is the physical force whose 6-foot-3 frame will go “top rope” above a defender to catch a pass, to move the chains on third down, to show what a one-time Tennessee quarterback can do as the most overlooked asset on the 49ers’ all-star team.
“He’s a playmaker, man,” Purdy said. “He obviously has the big frame and really good hands, so in that situation, the last thing I think is I need to just give him a shot and he can bring it down. He’s shown that time and time again over the last few seasons.
Jennings drew a career-high 12 targets Sunday, catching 11 for 175 yards and three touchdowns. The first two came on the opening two drives for a 14-0 lead.
“You just get in a rhythm. That was my first game ever being targeted like that,” Jennings said. “I’m not too used to it, so it’s about getting the ball and staying locked in. I just run my routes to win. If the ball is coming, I’m trying to catch it.”
The ball might not come as often if Deebo Samuel and George Kittle return to action after last game’s absences, because of calf and hamstring injuries, respectively.
Kittle did not travel to the game but he “thoroughly enjoyed” watching Jennings’ show from afar.
“Being able to watch the TV copy and the closeups on his emotions and everything, I see it every day in person,” Kittle said. “But to see how the world sees it was a very cool experience. You see how he loves the game, how he competes, how good of a player he is. That part was fun. The rest of it I absolutely hated. It was awful.”
Jennings could relate. He left the 49ers locker room without speaking to the media, saying Thursday he simply wasn’t “in the right head space” after a hard-fought loss.
He is no secret weapon, mind you. Four months ago, he signed a two-year, $15 million contract that pales in comparison to Brandon Aiyuk’s four-year, $120 million extension.
“Hopefully down the road we get some more shots and opportunities with him down the field,” Purdy said. “It’s nice as a quarterback knowing, with his size and mentality, he’ll do what it takes.”
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“It was just J.J. being J.J., going out there and taking advantage of every opportunity that he gets,” Samuel said on his “Cleats and Convos” podcast. “That’s just him.
“I see it every day at practice, every day at work. It’s just his confidence,” Samuel added. “His confidence is like, ‘I’m the best player in the world,’ and so that’s what makes him who he really is.”
He was arguably the best player on the world’s biggest stage in Super Bowl LVIII, up until Patrick Mahomes rallied the Kansas City Chiefs to their second straight Lombardi Trophy. Jennings threw and caught touchdown passes in that defeat.
“How much does it hurt? Man, anybody got a nail he can step on? Probably about that much,” Jennings said to reporters in the Super Bowl’s media tent.