Predicting 49ers 53-man roster just before final roster cuts

Wide Receivers (7): Dante Pettis*, Marquise Goodwin*, Deebo Samuel*, Jalen Hurd*, Trent Taylor*, Richie James, Jr., Jordan Matthews*

This is a strange group, and one that could find itself changing a great deal over the first few weeks of the season.

Slot receiver Trent Taylor is still recovering from offseason foot surgery, but it shouldn’t keep him on the shelf much past the first week or two, so he’s going to make the roster on the strength of his pre-surgery training camp buzz. Plus, he built quite a rapport with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo during the final five games of 2017.

Most of the rest of this group are pretty easy, as Dante Pettis, Marquise Goodwin, Deebo Samuel and Jalen Hurd are locks to make the squad, even if Shanahan is iffy on Hurd’s availability for Week 1 in Tampa.

Richie James, in light of Taylor’s injury, has played himself onto the roster with a strong preseason, and his value as a kick returner could help him see time even after Taylor returns. Although the numbers game there will be interesting.

The Jordan Matthews situation is the final and most intriguing one of the entire wide receiver corps. Shanahan has already gone on record regarding the quality of Matthews’ training camp, even if the veteran’s preseason has been underwhelming. He finished his preseason stint with just three catches for 47 yards.

Still, this is a very young receiver group outside of Marquise Goodwin, so Lynch and Shanahan might be looking to add a veteran presence to the locker room, even if he isn’t active at times during the season.