San Francisco 49ers: 3 players whose jobs are in jeopardy after 2020 NFL Draft
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: Wide Receiver Richie James
It’s a bit of an anomaly why two-year wide receiver Richie James hasn’t seen more offensive field time under head coach Kyle Shanahan. Despite the 49ers hurting for receiving production over the first half of 2019, James was mostly an afterthought, limited largely to usage on special teams.
San Francisco’s draft additions of Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings won’t help James’ prospects for getting into the offense this season, and it isn’t like he was a favorite there anyway.
Yet Aiyuk could potentially spell some danger for James’ other job, a return specialist on special teams.
Last year, James managed an average of 21.4 yards per kick return and 8.0 yards per punt-return attempt. But James also had some muffed returns, including one in the playoffs which could have been disastrous.
So it doesn’t help Aiyuk was a notable return specialist at Arizona State last year. In contrast, Aiyuk averaged 31.9 yards on kickoff returns and 16.1 yards on punt returns. While these are collegiate stats and won’t necessarily carry over to the pros, the fact Aiyuk has a credible return-specialist reputation already puts James’ job in danger.
Especially if San Francisco is eager to get its first-round NFL Draft choice on the field as much as possible.