49ers vs. Chiefs: 5 fringe players who impressed most in preseason loss

49ers Fringe Player No. 4: Wide Receiver Jauan Jennings

2020 certainly should have been frustrating for San Francisco’s final pick of that year’s draft, wide receiver Jauan Jennings, who had a sloppy training camp and ultimately spent his rookie year on the practice squad.

With the 49ers having a void for a big-slot receiver, though, Jennings reasserted himself as a candidate along with the veteran, Mohamed Sanu, who didn’t suit up for the contest.

Jennings, along with many of the Niners’ fringe players on the back end of the roster, didn’t get a ton of field time against first- or even second-string Chiefs defenders. But when Jennings did take the field, he made a difference.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound receiver who made a name for himself by breaking tackles when at Tennessee, hauled in one pass for 26 yards from Trey Lance while also “rushing” twice for a combined 23 yards during the game.

Kyle Shanahan was also notably impressed with Jennings efforts, telling reporters the day after:

"I was excited with how Jauan played. I mean, he’s a physical guy who loves to play football and I wanted to see it transfer over to the game and make sure he could still stay under enough control and do his assignments also. … And then when he got his opportunities when the ball was thrown to him, he came through."

San Francisco probably has two, potentially three spots on the wide receiver depth chart up for grabs.

Based on Jennings’ performance, he has to be considered a strong candidate to make the cut.