49ers rookie receiver Jacob Cowing could break big in Kyle Shanahan's offense sooner than later.
The 49ers come into the 2024 season with an interesting first-world problem: They have two top receivers in Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel who present different and pressing financial issues. For Samuel, it's that he's entering the big-money part of the three-year, $71.55 million contract extension he signed in 2022 -- a pact that has him with.
One thing's for sure -- Shanahan and general manager John Lynch did a lot in the 2024 draft to buck up their receiver room. They selected Florida's Ricky Pearsall with the 31st overall pick, and Pearsall projects well as an inside/outside guy with extensive route understanding -- which is mandatory if you want to take Shanahan's playbook to the field.
In addition, the 49ers got one of the better sleeper receivers in this class when they selected Arizona's Jacob Cowing with the 135th overall pick in the fourth round. The 5'11", 175 pound Cowing caught 89 passes on 121 targets last season for 868 yards and 13 touchdowns. And more than you'd expect for a receiver of his size, Cowing has proven able to win outside; nearly 30% of his targets in 2023 were from a wide alignment.
“Very similar to what we got with Ricky in that there’s not a route that he can’t run," Shanahan said of Cowing after he was drafted. "He starts outside the numbers and he’s got the speed to get on top of people and threaten with a go. He’s got the quickness. Inside he’d be a big problem with just how shifty he is. He can run screens and things like that. Very good punt returner. For his lack of size, he makes up with mentality.
Lynch, for his part, mentioned a draftable cornerback who spoke with the team on one of the player's top 30 visits, and this unnamed cornerback talked on and on about what a problem Cowing was to cover. That insight, matched with the team's internal evaluation, made the Cowing pick a lead-pipe lock.didn't just get Ricky Pearsall in the first round; they also picked up Arizona's Jacob Cowing in the fourth.
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