San Francisco 49ers 2016 Position Breakdown: Looking at the Wide Receiver Position

All signs are pointing to the San Francisco 49ers not re-signing veteran wide receiver Anquan Boldin this offseason, which leaves Torrey Smith as the only proven commodity. Niner Noise takes a look at the wideout position in our offseason positional breakdown series.

The San Francisco 49ers seem poised to move on from veteran wide receiver and perennial team-receiving leader Anquan Boldin in 2016. With Boldin unsigned, the 49ers’ lone top-tier receiving threat is fellow wideout Torrey Smith.

Smith, who endured career lows last season, is likely slated as the team’s No. 1 option heading into 2016. But who occupies the critical No. 2 and slot jobs remains a question mark for head coach Chip Kelly and Co.

San Francisco does have some options, if not totally proven, to take over either slot. And the remaining depth chart will be filled with receivers who match most what Kelly wants to see.

Part of the questions surrounding this position may be answered by the Niners’ selection of Michigan State wideout Aaron Burbridge in the 2016 NFL Draft.

Burbridge is, in many ways, similar to Boldin. He may not be the fastest receiver on the team but is capable of matching good hands with a physicality to catch passes in contested areas — elements the San Francisco offense will need this season.

So in this portion of Niner Noise’s position-by-position offseason breakdown, we’ll look at wide receiver and try to assess what will happen for the 49ers entering 2016.

Recapping 2015

The 49ers passing offense last year was anything but dynamic. Even with Boldin and Smith leading the team in receiving, San Francisco still finished with the league’s fourth-worst aerial attack — just 3,316 yards through the air.

The Niners also struggled in passing touchdowns and amassed a mere 16 on the season, which was good for 29th in the NFL.

Boldin led San Francisco with 789 receiving yards, but the 35-year-old veteran likely won’t be a part of the 49ers’ plans moving forward.

Smith had flashes of brilliance at points throughout the season. His deep-threat capability was seen, at times, in situations where the Niners needed a home-run impact. Take his game-winning overtime touchdown in Week 13 against the Chicago Bears as a perfect example.

The 49ers were still looking to get regular contributions from depth receivers like Quinton Patton and Bruce Ellington.

Ellington, a 5’9″ slot-like receiver hasn’t exactly produced at a high enough level despite good speed and shiftiness. And Patton, having a little more size and equal potential, seemed to mark every notable play with something questionable.

Like this:

Ellington and Patton’s cases haven’t been helped by injuries either. So far, Patton has appeared in just 26 games over three seasons. Ellington has the same amount over two years at the pro level.

The Niners also kept last year’s fourth-round draft pick, DeAndre Smelter, sidelined while he recovered from a collegiate ACL injury. There’s a lot of buzz surrounding Smelter entering this season, but the book is still out whether or not he’ll be a major factor.

2016 49ers Wide Receivers

As noted previously, the Niners have a lot of depth at this position. Exactly how established and potent this unit is, however, is up for debate.

Here’s a list of 49ers wideouts, courtesy of the team’s website:

• Dres Anderson
• Aaron Burbridge
• Devon Cajuste
• DiAndre Campbell
• Bruce Ellington
• Quinton Patton
• Eric Rogers
• Jerome Simpson
• DeAndre Smelter
• Torrey Smith
• Bryce Treggs
• DeAndrew White

Former CFL star wideout Eric Rogers was added to the mix as a free agent this offseason. He’ll be a player to watch as the 49ers continue camp programs leading up to the regular season.

What to Watch for 2016

Smith will likely remain one of San Francisco’s deep-threat weapons on offense this season, and the hope is Kelly will be able to maximize his impact, unlike what former head coach Jim Tomsula and Co. did last year.

But the Niners need a complementary piece.

Perhaps Smelter steps into this role. But general manager Trent Baalke’s ACL-injury picks haven’t exactly panned out up to this point and, even if Smelter is ready to go, he’ll still have to learn all the nuances of NFL-style play and route-running. It’s not an easy learning curve.

This might be a reason why San Francisco brought in Burbridge. His makeup, similar to Boldin, could be the piece to complement Smith and the passing game. It’s also feasible Burbridge is used as a slot receiver, as described in the 49ers’ website video below:

So, if Burbridge is considered a favorite to land the slot gig, who emerges as the team’s No. 2 option on the outside alongside Smith?

At this point, the likeliest of choices is Patton. At 6’0″, Patton has a significant size advantage over Ellington. While Patton’s inconsistency may still raise eyebrows, it’s worth thinking Kelly will maximize his use and put his best traits forward.

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But all of this remains to be seen insofar as who wins the job.

Not covered here is former Stanford wideout and undrafted free agent signee Devon Cajuste. Cajuste, at 6’4″, may wind up seeing more time as a tight end and/or red-zone specialist — another area in which the 49ers need help this season.

Cajuste’s hands will be something worth monitoring as well.

At any rate, it’s safe to say the 49ers have some questions to ask and answer for wide receiver this offseason.

Expect to see different players line up with various units during camp and in the preseason. San Francisco is in a position where the team has to get as many looks at as many different guys as possible.

This could be a good thing, as competition has plenty of merits, but the situation would be all the more better if the Niners had more than one proven option.

Next: Looking at 49ers Linebackers in 2016

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