San Francisco 49ers: 4 biggest surprises from 2021 NFL Draft

Surprise No. 4: San Francisco 49ers pass on drafting a wide receiver

Despite the 2021 NFL Draft being notably deep at the position, it was awfully curious why the San Francisco 49ers didn’t add a wide receiver at any point throughout the draft. True, they signed former UAB wideout Austin Watkins, who’ll compete for a spot on the depth chart.

But passing on this position despite having plenty of question marks behind the two starters, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, while also having a need to identify a clear slot option was a bit odd.

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What’s even crazier is the fact the non-drafting of a wide receiver ended an 18-year run by the team taking a wideout in the draft.

Perhaps the Niners weren’t overly convinced on would-be receiving targets like USC’s Amon-Ra St. Brown or Michigan’s Nico Collins. Maybe they were interested in other receivers like North Texas’ Jaelon Darden or Clemson’s Amari Rodgers, but the draft board just didn’t pan out to allow either one of those two to slip into San Francisco’s collective grasp.

We may never know.

It’s possible Kyle Shanahan is banking on currently rostered wideouts like Richie James, Trent Sherfield, Travis Benjamin or even Jalen Hurd making significantly bigger contributions to the offense this upcoming season. Or maybe the 49ers are going to closely eyeball the waiver wire once final roster cuts around the league are made prior to Week 1.

Still, it was weird not to see the Niners take advantage of this deep class in 2021.