Predicting 49ers offensive starting lineup before 2020 NFL Draft

Wide Receiver

Boundary: Deebo Samuel, Kendrick Bourne

Slot: Trent Taylor

Losing veteran wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders in free agency to the New Orleans Saints only highlighted the notion the 49ers will use one of their two first-round NFL Draft picks on a wide receiver.

Especially considering the depth of this year’s draft class and the relative lack of quality options behind the returnees, Deebo Samuel and Kendrick Bourne.

Yet expecting San Francisco to automatically insert a rookie, even a highly drafted one, into the starting lineup right away is still a bit premature. Samuel, last year, is a prime example. After starting the first two games, Samuel was relegated to backup duties between Weeks 3 through 5 as he developed.

There’s a good chance whatever rookie selected winds up starting by the end of the season. Early on, though, it’s much more likely Samuel and Bourne assume the starting duties on the outside. In the slot, one can hope fourth-year pro Trent Taylor returns to the same kind of third-down impact player he was for Jimmy Garoppolo late in 2017.

But Taylor is coming back from a serious foot injury last year, which required multiple surgeries over the course of a lost season. So that position is anything but guaranteed.