San Francisco 49ers: Positional Progress Report for First Quarter of 2016
By Peter Panacy
Wide Receivers
Oh, how problematic the 49ers situation at wide receiver is. Sans Jeremy Kerley of course.
Kerley is about the only consistent option San Francisco has at this position. No. 1 wideout Torrey Smith is not exactly the best fit in head coach Chip Kelly’s offense. His deep-threat capability doesn’t jive with Kelly’s uptempo, quick-release scheme.
And yet the Niners have made little attempt to get Smith involved on the season.
As such, Kerley leads this group with 202 yards on 18 catches and a touchdown.
It’s a glaring weakness the 49ers have and a direct result of not adequately addressing this position via the NFL Draft and free agency.
Up to Par
Not much. Kerley is about the only bright spot emanating from this group. We’ve seen a couple of plays involving Smith, including the underthrown interception from Blaine Gabbert in Week 4, which suggest the speedy wideout could still be a factor.
The rest? Well, it’s not pretty.
Needing Improvement
If there’s one element San Francisco’s receivers need to improve on, it’s separation. We can fault Gabbert all we want — we will — but an equally troubling part of the issue is the lack of space generated by the 49ers receiving corps.
San Francisco has only one wideout (Kerley) ranked in Pro Football Focus‘ top-30 breakdown. No one else has even been much of a factor.
It hurts the Niners offense in more ways than just the lack of stats. Opposing defenses need not worry about scheming against a top-tier, or even above-average, receiver. Those defenses can focus on the running game. And they have.