San Francisco 49ers: Predicting a Week 1 53-man roster, depth chart for 2018
By Peter Panacy
Wide Receiver (7)
Right Receiver: Pierre Garçon, Dante Pettis
Left Receiver: Marquise Goodwin, Kendrick Bourne, Aaron Burbridge
Slot: Trent Taylor, Richie James
Just think, veteran wide receiver Pierre Garçon was on pace to reach 1,000 yards in 2017 well before quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo took over starting duties in Week 12.
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Unfortunately, Garçon was sidelined by a season-ending neck injury exactly halfway through the season. But one can only imagine what a Garçon-Garoppolo tandem will look like over the course of this year.
This likely means the 49ers’ second-round draft pick, Washington’s Dante Pettis, won’t start right away. But with the Niners holding options on Garçon’s contract in 2019, 2020 and 2021, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Pettis eventually emerge as the go-to guy next season.
Meanwhile, Marquise Goodwin had a career year in 2017, in which he nearly eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards. And then-rookie Trent Taylor was highly effective out of the slot, who had the league’s best catch rate on slant routes, per Pro Football Focus.
Rookie Richie James could push Taylor for reps, although the former likely winds up a depth option to start 2018.
Aaron Burbridge also makes the cut, based off his special teams abilities, which means the 49ers likely say goodbye to returning veterans Aldrick Robinson and Victor Bolden.