49ers: Who is San Francisco wide receiver Pierre Garcon?

Niner Noise’s “Who Is?” series on 2017 San Francisco 49ers players rolls out our next installment on veteran free-agent pickup, wide receiver Pierre Garcon and how his ties with head coach Kyle Shanahan will help the offense.

One of the first moves made by the San Francisco 49ers regime was to land a notable free agent, and it did so by signing veteran wide receiver Pierre Garcon.

Garcon, 30 years old, brings both veteran prowess and an understanding of head coach Kyle Shanahan’s system to the table.

If anything, Garcon’s desire to sign with San Francisco is proof players want to come to Santa Clara despite the Niners finishing 2-14 last year and are in the early stages of a complete rebuild.

Garcon already has a track record for being one of the most polished route-runners in the NFL. Those accolades, combined with a prolific NFL career so far, immediately make him the team’s No. 1 receiver this season:

Pierre Garcon Receiving Table
				Game	Game	Rece	Rece	Rece	Rece	Rece	Rece	Rece	Rece	Rece
Year	Age	Tm	Pos	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	Lng	R/G	Y/G	Ctch%
2008	22	IND		14	0	4	4	23	5.8	0	12	0.3	1.6	100.0%
2009	23	IND	WR	14	13	92	47	765	16.3	4	66	3.4	54.6	51.1%
2010	24	IND	WR	14	14	119	67	784	11.7	6	57	4.8	56.0	56.3%
2011	25	IND	WR	16	16	134	70	947	13.5	6	87	4.4	59.2	52.2%
2012	26	WAS	WR	10	10	68	44	633	14.4	4	88	4.4	63.3	64.7%
2013	27	WAS	WR	16	16	181	113	1346	11.9	5	53	7.1	84.1	62.4%
2014	28	WAS	WR	16	14	105	68	752	11.1	3	70	4.3	47.0	64.8%
2015	29	WAS	WR	16	16	111	72	777	10.8	6	39	4.5	48.6	64.9%
2016	30	WAS	WR	16	16	114	79	1041	13.2	3	70	4.9	65.1	69.3%
Care	Care			132	115	928	564	7068	12.5	37	88	4.3	53.5
5 yr	5 yr	WAS		74	72	579	376	4549	12.1	21	88	5.1	61.5
4 yr	4 yr	IND		58	43	349	188	2519	13.4	16	87	3.2	43.4

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/25/2017.

In this article, we’ll draw ties between Garcon, Shanahan and how this experience should benefit San Francisco’s offense this season.

More importantly, we’ll break down why Garcon will either improve or regress this season.

Why He’ll Improve

The bar is already pretty high for the nine-year veteran, and it isn’t as if Garcon is entering the prime of his career.

Also worth noting is the fact Garcon has played in some pretty prolific offenses prior to 2017. But one should note the 2013 season when both he and Shanahan engineered a chemistry that allowed Garcon to net 1,346 receiving yards on a league-leading 113 receptions.

Feb 9, 2017; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan during a press conference at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

Even without Shanahan in the picture, Garcon still managed over 1,000 receiving yards with the Washington Redskins a year ago.

No, signs aren’t pointing to him slowing down.

While speed is going to start eluding Garcon eventually, the thing that makes Garcon such a notable threat is his route running.

Additionally, Shanahan’s offense calls for scheming receivers to get open. This Rich Madrid piece from Niner Noise illustrates how the head coach is able to create seams via his play-calling.

Garcon should be the primary beneficiary of this. And with speedy receivers like Marquise Goodwin and Jeremy Kerley to take the top off defenses, the now-No. 1 wideout shouldn’t have much trouble getting targeted.

San Francisco 49ers /

San Francisco 49ers

Why He’ll Regress

Unlike his situation now in San Francisco, Garcon benefited by being the opposite number of former Redskins receiver DeSean Jackson.

This two-headed punch ensured teams’ defenses couldn’t clamp down solely on Garcon. No, they had to “pick their poison,” essentially, and both receivers were able to post up some pretty lofty stats in recent years.

While the Niners have some promise at the position, there isn’t exactly another name striking fear into the minds of defensive coordinators out there.

Sure, Goodwin has speed to burn. But he has an injury history. And Kerley’s 2016 campaign was his best yet. Is that enough to convince opponents he’s a legitimate threat?

What probably ends up happening is opposing defenses do their best to lock down Garcon and force the 49ers to utilize other weapons in the passing game. Garcon’s teammates may be the beneficiaries of this, but it’s a likelihood we’ll see a significant drop in his stats this year.

And the age factor remains a looming reality.

What to Expect in 2017

One of the primary reasons Garcon was brought aboard was to act as a mentor teaching Shanahan’s offense.

Shanahan’s scheme, while prolific, is complex and requires a great attention to detail. This is why a number of offensive free-agent acquisitions ( TE Logan Paulsen, RB Tim Hightower, WR Aldrick Robinson, etc.) have previous experience working under Shanahan when he was an offensive coordinator.

More from Niner Noise

The 49ers offense is far from a complete product. But as the Niners continue to grow and evolve, look for Garcon to be the elder statesman in the development of younger commodities.

On the field, San Francisco at least has a capable receiver with the potential to crest 1,000 yards through the air.

He’ll make a difference. And at least the 49ers can have someone in the passing game forcing other teams to scheme against him.

Next: Looking at the 49ers' 2017 passing game

It’s been a while since they could say such a thing.

San Francisco 49ers: Who is wide receiver Pierre Garcon?

By Peter Panacy | May 26, 2017