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49ers won’t land free-agent wideouts Allen Robinson, Sammy Watkins

By Peter Panacy

FOXBORO, MA - AUGUST 10: Allen Robinson #15 of the Jacksonville Jaguars gestures in the first half during a preseason game with New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on August 10, 2017 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
FOXBORO, MA - AUGUST 10: Allen Robinson #15 of the Jacksonville Jaguars gestures in the first half during a preseason game with New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on August 10, 2017 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) /
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The San Francisco 49ers were thought to be in on the hunt for free-agent wide receivers Allen Robinson and Sammy Watkins, who will now be signing elsewhere for 2018.

It appears as if the San Francisco 49ers are happy with their wide receiver crop heading into 2018.

With NFL free agency officially kicking off on Mar. 14, the Niners no longer appear to be in the running for top-name free agents Allen Robinson and/or Sammy Watkins. Robinson is destined to the Chicago Bears, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, while Watkins will be joining the Kansas City Chiefs on a three-year deal, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Robinson was surely a fan-favorite target for San Francisco. You can read more about the potential would-have-been fit here.

San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers /

San Francisco 49ers

And Watkins, while not as prolific as Robinson, could have been a decent fallback option.

As it stands, the 49ers will head into this season mostly with a crop of receivers carried over from last year.

We could have seen the proverbial “writing on the wall” a while back, though. The Niners inked wide receiver Marquise Goodwin to a three-year extension earlier this month. That move certainly pointed to a less-likely Robinson/Watkins acquisition.

So did general manager John Lynch’s comments to NFL Network’s Steve Wyche (h/t David Fucillo of Niners Nation), where Lynch indicated the team wouldn’t go after “the splash names.”

This could have been a “smoke and mirrors” effort, but Robinson and Watkins are both pretty splashy targets.

There’s further evidence too. Last January, Joe Fann of 49ers.com put together an argument why wide receiver wasn’t as big an offseason need as some may have thought. He wrote:

"Look at the New England Patriots dynasty under Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. None of Brady’s five Super Bowl Championships came with Randy Moss on the roster. Moss, Terrell Owens, Chad Johnson, Dez Bryant, Julio Jones, A.J. Green, Andre Johnson and Calvin Johnson are a few Hall of Fame caliber receivers to have never won a Super Bowl. …The conclusion is this: While the 49ers could use a stud pass catcher in the red zone, it’s not a guarantee that they’re willing to spend a top 10 draft pick or $15 million in free agency to acquire such skill set."

Smart Move by the 49ers?

Robinson or Watkins — the former, especially — would have been a wonderful luxury item. Fann even eluded to similar big-name receivers in such a way.

SANTA CLARA, CA – SEPTEMBER 21: Sammy Watkins #12 of the Los Angeles Rams stretches the ball across the goal line for a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during their NFL game at Levi’s Stadium on September 21, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA – SEPTEMBER 21: Sammy Watkins #12 of the Los Angeles Rams stretches the ball across the goal line for a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during their NFL game at Levi’s Stadium on September 21, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

A must-have, though? Perhaps not.

It’s been a long, long time since a top-flight wide receiver carried his team all the way to a Super Bowl crown. The more important positions, of course, are quarterback and a pass-rusher. San Francisco has the former in Jimmy Garoppolo and will look for the latter either in free agency or the NFL Draft.

Tack on head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense too. His scheme nearly turned Goodwin into a 1,000-yard receiver in 2017, and 11 of those games were without Garoppolo under center.

Additionally, veteran wideout Pierre Garçon was on pace for 1,000 yards before suffering a season-ending neck injury halfway through the year. Expected to return fully healthy this season, Garçon and Goodwin make for more than just an average one-two punch.

And then there’s slot receiver Trent Taylor, who ranked ninth among all receivers with 18 third-down receptions for a first down.

That’s pretty solid, especially for a rookie.

49ers Wide Receivers Inked for 2018

NFL free agency officially kicks off on Mar. 14, although you’ll hear names discussed in the legal tampering period before then.

More from Niner Noise

As things stand now, here’s the list of receivers the Niners have signed through the upcoming season:

It wouldn’t be shocking to see the Niners add another receiver, or two, hopefully to help address the team’s red-zone woes. Whether or not this is through free agency or the NFL Draft is anyone’s guess.

Either way, Shanahan appears to be fairly content with the crop of targets he has on the roster heading into 2018.

Next: 5 under-the-radar free agents 49ers can target

And we’ll see whether or not this approach winds up being justified this season.