49ers must temper expectations with Jalen Hurd in 2020

The San Francisco 49ers still have a unique weapon, wide receiver Jalen Hurd, who was injured all of 2019. As enticing as he is, it’s wise to temper expectations this upcoming season.

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jalen Hurd is one of a number of players injured in 2019 who could wind up making a huge impact this upcoming season.

The Niners were clearly high on him, picking him up in the third round, No. 67 overall, in last year’s NFL Draft. The 6-foot-4, 227-pound converted wide receiver out of Baylor immediately became San Francisco’s biggest wide receiver.

And the intangible traits made him appear to be a perfect complementary piece within head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense.

Early on, it looked as if the Niners found themselves a gem. Hurd hauled in two impressive touchdowns in San Francisco’s preseason opener against the Dallas Cowboys, using his big frame to his advantage.

But Hurd then suffered a back injury a week later, which eventually landed him on season-ending injured reserve.

Half a year later, Hurd still hasn’t been medically cleared for on-field activities. Speaking from the 2020 NFL Combine, general manager John Lynch said, “Come April 1 for our offseason program he’ll be a full go.”

That’s good. Yet it doesn’t mean the 49ers can hinge a ton of hopes on the big-bodied receiver just yet.

The Niners are widely expected to grab a wide receiver in a receiving-deep 2020 NFL Draft class. One of the reasons why is due to Hurd being such an unknown commodity still. Despite the brief flashes during the preseason, it’s important to note Hurd still has yet to take a regular-season snap at the NFL level.

And the reason to curb any hype goes beyond that fact, too.

Hurd spent his first three collegiate years playing running back at Tennessee. In 2015, he churned out 1,285 rush yards and 12 touchdowns, looking like a big-bodied bruiser on the ground. In 2017, though, Hurd transferred to Baylor so he could change positions from running back to wide receiver. After sitting out that year as a transfer, Hurd finally got his chance to play as a pass catcher in 2018.

The numbers were good, suggesting Hurd could be productive at his new position at the NFL level. An issue, however, was Hurd’s route tree in college wasn’t particularly complex. As a result, his rookie season with San Francisco was likely to be little more than a developmental one. Not much more than that.

But instead of learning all the on-field intricacies of Shanahan’s complex offense, Hurd had to spend all of 2019 rehabilitating the back injury he suffered during the preseason.

Remember, he has yet to be cleared from the injury.

On the positive side, Hurd’s makeup suggests he can fill a number of different roles within the Niners offense: everything from a wide receiver, tight end, return specialist and running back.

At the same time, though, Hurd still has an awfully steep learning curve ahead of him, and there’s no guarantee he’ll provide even a modest impact in what will essentially be his real first season at the pro level.

So while it’s OK to be hopeful about Hurd’s immediate potential in 2020, it’s probably smarter to temper the expectation level a bit.