San Francisco

Niners' Receiving Corps Ranks Among NFL's Worst

Late-summer acquisition Jeremy Kerley leads the team in receiving and No. 1 wideout Torrey Smith has made little impact

In late August, the 49ers acquired journeyman wide receiver Jeremy Kerley in a trade with the Detroit Lions.

It was a necessary pickup by San Francisco, which was desperate for pass receivers because of injuries to Bruce Ellington and Eric Rogers, who had been projected to be big contributors in 2016.

Ellington was essentially injury-prone and unproven, but his quickness had head coach Chip Kelly excited about his playmaking abilities. Rogers had been a big producer in the Canadian Football League. Kelly hoped that Ellington and Rogers – teamed with starter Torrey Smith – could give his team three quality wideouts for his spread offense.

Instead, the 49ers cast of wide receivers has been perhaps the worst in the league.

Kerley, with 30 catches for 331 yards, has been the team’s most productive wide receiver – yet he ranks tied for 67th in the NFL in receiving yards.

It’s a far cry from recent seasons when the 49ers had such proven and productive receivers such as Anquan Boldin, Michael Crabtree and tight end Vernon Davis.

As David Fucillo of SB Nation wrote this week, the 49ers’ receiving corps is “a mess.”

Smith is one starter, and has proven to be a big-play receiver during his career. He’s been one of the best deep threats in the NFL. Yet quarterbacks Blaine Gabbert and Colin Kaepernick have been unable to connect with him consistently. He has just 13 catches in 32 targets over seven games. Quinton Patton (19 catches), Rod Streater (3) and rookie Aaron Burbridge (2) make up the rest of the wide receiver corps.

The 49ers, of course, allowed both Boldin and Crabtree to leave in free agency, and general manager Trent Baalke whiffed horribly in drafting A.J. Jenkins with a first-round choice in 2012. Those moves left the cupboard bare in the offseason. Then, when injuries took down Rogers and Ellington, the problem became worse.

Now, with the 49ers coming off a bye week and headed into a matchup with the Saints this Sunday (1:05 p.m. kickoff), the wide receiver corps ranks as one of the 49ers’ biggest weaknesses.

The 49ers are last in the NFL in passing yards, averaging just 161.4 per game. The quarterbacks deservedly get much of the blame. But the receiving corps deserves a big portion of it, too.

Contact Us