Power ranking 5 new 49ers free-agent additions from 2021

No. 4: 49ers Wide Receiver Trent Sherfield

The loss of Kendrick Bourne in NFL free agency to the Patriots this offseason opened up a void for the Niners’ No. 3 wide receiver on the depth chart between the two returnees, Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel.

This prompted San Francisco to make a move for former Arizona Cardinals wideout Trent Sherfield, who spent the first three years of his career mostly buried on Arizona’s depth chart and appearing solely on special teams.

Yet the 6-foot-1, 219-pound receiver has a similar build as Bourne. And Sherfield is arguably faster, too, having ran a 4.45 40-yard time at his pro day back in 2018.

Bourne was easily much more productive for the 49ers over his four-year tenure than Sherfield’s three with the Cardinals, the latter having just 28 catches for 340 yards and a touchdown over that span.

But to identify the match and why the Niners grabbed him, it’s good to point out 10 of those receptions were on third down with eight of them going for a first down, too. For much of Bourne’s career, he was a third-down weapon for Kyle Shanahan’s offense, so there’s a good chance San Francisco is hoping Sherfield can become another under-the-radar addition who can help fill this void.

The 49ers’ wide receiver depth chart behind Aiyuk and Samuel is wide open, so Sherfield has an opportunity to set himself apart as the No. 3 option alongside those two names.