4 position groups the 49ers will have to address in 2020

No. 1: Wide Receiver

Earlier this season, the 49ers were dominating opponents largely due to their stout defense and overpowering running game.

Wide receiver production, on the other hand, wasn’t coming close to delivering the necessary results.

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Trading for Emmanuel Sanders has surely helped. So has the development and maturation of the Niners’ second-round NFL Draft pick from this year, Deebo Samuel. Samuel is surely a part of San Francisco’s long-term plans. And the team can hope injured wideouts Trent Taylor and Jalen Hurd provide some thump in 2020 as well.

But there are a couple of things compounding San Francisco’s plans at this position for next season. The first, Sanders is a pending free agent. While his production with the Niners has been outstanding, he’ll also turn 33 years old before the start of next season, so it’s anyone’s guess whether or not the 49ers want to ink him to a new contract this offseason or let him walk in NFL free agency.

Another is the literal disappearance of second-year pro Dante Pettis from Kyle Shanahan’s game plans this season.

Pettis’ hopeful resurgence is a big part of the equation whether or not the 49ers make further attempts to reinforce this crop this offseason, especially considering how deep the NFL Draft is at the position.

Re-signing Sanders also factors into the equation, too, potentially.