49ers 2021 ‘Who is?’ series: Bennie Fowler a long shot

The 49ers inked veteran wideout Bennie Fowler almost as an emergency, and he doesn’t stand much of a chance to make the 53-man roster in 2021.

Stranger things have happened, but San Francisco 49ers fans probably shouldn’t be lining up to order their jerseys for wide receiver Bennie Fowler.

Fowler was a bit of an afterthought offseason signing by the Niners, who previously inked former Jacksonville Jaguars wideout Marqise Lee only to release him days later in the wake of an aggravated injury.

And to round out the wide receiver offseason depth chart, Fowler was the player San Francisco elected to grab to replace Lee.

Fowler, 6-foot-1 and 212 pounds, entered the league as an 2015 undrafted free-agent signing of the Denver Broncos out of Michigan State. He spent three years in Denver before additional stints with the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints, posting a career-best year back in 2017:

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com
Generated 6/15/2021.

Despite the 49ers having quite the open-ended question mark about who rounds out the back end of their receiving room, Fowler doesn’t look to be much more than training camp competition and someone who could push the many other depth receivers looking for a job in 2021.

Unless Fowler puts on the show of shows during camp and the preseason.

Why Bennie Fowler impresses with 49ers in 2021

There are two potential traits working in Fowler’s favor.

The first, of course, is his size, as many of the Niners’ other wideouts under Kyle Shanahan’s head-coaching tenure have been sub-6-foot. San Francisco is looking for a key possession receiver to replace Kendrick Bourne, who opted for the New England Patriots in free agency. Despite the fact Fowler has never been a key cog in any offense he’s seen, the opportunity with the 49ers is certainly there.

Shanahan loves speed, too, so the fact Fowler ran an impressive 4.35 40-yard time at his pro day suggests he could be that vital field-stretching deep threat to open up holes in the defense.

Fowler will have to capitalize on both if he wants to hang around.

Why Bennie Fowler flames out with 49ers in 2021

Having just turned 30 years old, considering Fowler hasn’t exactly caught on anywhere else up to this point in his career, it sure doesn’t seem likely things will dramatically change now with the Niners.

The two years spent in New York with an only so-so pass-catching corps there isn’t an endorsement of Fowler. It would be one thing if Fowler offered plenty of special teams experience. But considering the last time he saw even 50 percent of special teams snaps was back in 2017, this doesn’t exactly work to his advantage.

On top of that, the Niners have plenty of other younger wideouts they’d like to promote and develop, meaning Fowler’s reps during camp are likely to be limited to the third-string unit.

He won’t receive too much attention that way.

Chances of making 49ers’ 53-man roster

Fowler joined San Francisco on a veteran’s minimum $990,000 base salary with zero in guarantees, meaning the 49ers would owe him nothing if he fails to make the 53-man roster.

As far as his competition is concerned, he’s looking up at fellow depth wideouts like Trent Sherfield, Austin Watkins, Jalen Hurd, River Cracraft, Kevin White, Richie James, Travis Benjamin, Mohamed Sanu and Jauan Jennings, the latter two showing the most promise to take over Bourne’s role as the No. 3 option on the depth chart.

It’s hard to imagine Fowler beating out at least five or six of those names between now and Week 1, though. Especially considering his age, relative lack of use and general unfamiliarity with Shanahan’s complex offense.

What’ll likely be the case is Fowler seeing some modest snaps in the second half of Weeks 1 and 2 of the preseason, potentially working towards an increased role in the Niners’ third and final exhibition game.

After that, one should probably bank on Fowler being placed back on the free-agent scrap heap.

Unless those stranger things come to fruition.