San Francisco 49ers: Creating the ideal starting lineup for 2018
By Peter Panacy
Wide Receiver
Right Wide Receiver: Pierre Garçon
Left Wide Receiver: Marquise Goodwin
Slot: Trent Taylor
Sure, a big-name wide receiver might be on the 49ers’ list of offseason priorities. But it’s equally plausible one isn’t.
At least according to a report by 49ers.com’s Joe Fann.
Keep this in mind — Kyle Shanahan turned a previously seldom-used Marquise Goodwin into nearly a 1,000-yard receiver last season. Goodwin would have likely reached that mark had it not been for a concussion in Week 17 last year. Rather than being just a speedster, Goodwin’s route-running took shape in 2017. We should expect even more this year.
Similarly, veteran wideout Pierre Garçon was on pace to reach 1,000 receiving yards before suffering a season-ending neck injury exactly halfway through the year.
In the case with Garçon, partially with Goodwin, these numbers came before Jimmy Garoppolo took over under center.
With Trent Taylor a valuable third-down weapon out of the slot, there might not be as big a reason to make upgrades here as one could think.
If there aren’t any substantial changes, we should be OK with that.