SF 49ers Trade Target No. 3: Wide Receiver Chris Conley
Teams typically don’t engineer trades for one-year rentals, although San Francisco essentially did that for Trent Williams already during the offseason.
But the 49ers have already tried addressing their pressing wide receiver needs a lot during training camp, onboarding a number of free-agent wideouts to bolster numbers in the wake of some serious injury attrition.
Wide receivers Deebo Samuel (foot), Brandon Aiyuk (hamstring) and Richie James (wrist) are all expected back at some point this season, the first two perhaps as early as Week 1. But the Niners are still seeking a big-bodied option who could provide some physical prowess, particularly in the red zone. The idea was to make San Francisco’s seventh-round rookie, Jauan Jennings, a factor here. But Jennings, hindered by the lack of spring workouts, hasn’t looked sharp in training camp, leaving a notable void especially in the wake of fellow wideout Jalen Hurd’s season-ending ACL tear.
One potential fix could be for the SF 49ers to target Jaguars wide receiver Chris Conley, who at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, would automatically become one of the team’s biggest targets.
And it’s hard to ignore Conley’s five touchdowns in each of his last two seasons, plus his 775 receiving yards from a year ago.
Conley is a pending free agent in 2021, set to earn up to $3.745 million this season. It’s not a cheap contract, per se. But it’s within the Niners’ budget and would be off the books next season.
Given it would be a one-year rental, John Lynch could probably execute a trade with a day-three pick sent off to Jacksonville.