Niner Noise
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2016 Free Agency: Offseason Wish List for San Francisco 49ers

By Trevor Irvine

Dec 13, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Marvin Jones (82) carries the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the fourth quarter at Paul Brown Stadium. The Steelers won 33-20. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 13, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Marvin Jones (82) carries the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the fourth quarter at Paul Brown Stadium. The Steelers won 33-20. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 3, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Marvin Jones (82) breaks a tackle from Baltimore Ravens defensive back Shareece Wright (35) in the first half at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 3, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Marvin Jones (82) breaks a tackle from Baltimore Ravens defensive back Shareece Wright (35) in the first half at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /

Marvin Jones: Wide Receiver – 2015 Team: Cincinnati Bengals

The 49ers need wide receiver help. The offense simply stank in 2015, with an innate inability to convert third downs and move the ball down the field consistently.

Most of the problems were due to injuries to key players, and the schemes/play-calling was abysmal at best. Now that the 49ers have an offensive minded head coach again, there should be big improvement in 2016.

The wide receiver corps has more questions than answers. No. 1 receiver Anquan Boldin is 35 years old and is an unrestricted free agent. Torrey Smith had a disappointing year but didn’t see much of the ball. Quinton Patton and Bruce Ellington have never taken the next step and are more relied on in the return game.

Redshirt DeAndre Smelter will appear in 2016, and he is a big-body receiver in the Boldin mold. He has an exciting future. But the 49ers need more speed on the outside and someone who can catch the ball down the field.

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This is where Jones fits in. He has four years in the league and is still only 25 years old. In 2015, he caught 65 passes for 816 yards (12.6 yards per catch) and four TDs. He carried a minuscule $565,700 cap number last season. He excelled catching deep passes from Bengals QB Andy Dalton.

Per Pro Football Focus, he ranked 38th out of 121 qualified receivers with a plus-79.0 grade (on a zero to 100 scale), and his receiving grade (plus-79.8) and run blocking (plus-65.3) were good enough. Per rotowire.com, Jones runs a 4.46 40-yard dash and has good size at 6’2″, 198 pounds. He has the speed to get down the field but also has the size and strength to fight off cornerbacks and safeties.

Most importantly, Jones is third on the Bengals depth chart (behind A.J. Green and Mohamed Sanu) and there is little chance he will be franchise tagged, with the Bengals likely to place their tag on their right tackle Andre Smith or perhaps Sanu himself.

Per stripehype.com, Jones “has made it clear that he wants to test free agency”. The 49ers need to be right in the mix for his services. He would be a nice complement to Smith and give the QB (whoever it ends up being) another option down the field:

"Marvin Jones has been the Cincinnati Bengals’ signature deep threat alongside A.J. Green and has helped the Bengals offense become one of the best in football. Hauling in bombs from franchise quarterback Andy Dalton, Jones has quietly emerged as one of the NFL’s top three free agent wide receivers."

The 49ers can offer Jones a nice contract, and sell him the benefits of playing under Chip Kelly, and that he will see his fair share of balls. With Boldin (assuming he is brought back), Smith, Smelter, and Jones, the 49ers would have four quality wideouts with depth options in Ellington and Patton, and perhaps another wideout brought in through the draft.

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All of the players on this list should be available in free agency, and each would bring a new quality to the team and help fill a huge hole on this current roster. With the amount of cap room the 49ers have, they need to spend but these players are inexpensive options who can be offered significant pay raises from their 2015 salary without busting the budget.

The 49ers can also build through the draft (as they have in the past), but they have a unique opportunity now to make splashes in free agency. Once free agency begins next month, the 49ers need to be first in line.

Next: San Francisco 49ers: Ranking the 10 Worst Teams in Franchise History

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and overthecap.com unless otherwise indicated.