Trent Sherfield must do one more thing to be 49ers 3rd receiver

Trent Sherfield has been the surprise of camp and is so close to being the 49ers third receiver. Sherfield just has to clear one more hurdle.

There’s always surprises in training camp, both good and bad, but one of the pleasant surprises for the San Francisco 49ers have been the performance of wide receiver Trent Sherfield in the preseason.

Originally brought in for special teams, Sherfield wasn’t expected to have much if any impact on the actual wide receiving corps for the team.

But with Jalen Hurd just unable to get healthy whatsoever and Richie James underperforming, there’s suddenly a wide open position on the 49ers offense for the third wide receiver on the depth chart.

For the longest time, Mohamed Sanu was considered to be the favorite for that role as the solid veteran. He really hasn’t put a strong claim for the role, though, and the much flashier Sherfield is the one that caught the eyes of fans instead.

He showed it wasn’t just a fluke either, catching Trey Lance’s massive bomb in the preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs to send the 49ers fans into a frenzy.

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So how does Sherfield capitalize on this wave of momentum? It all comes down to the snaps of Jimmy Garoppolo in the final few preseason games.

Garoppolo is still penciled in for the starting quarterback role right now. Lance flashed his exciting potential but his overall performance against the Chiefs wasn’t enough to entertain putting him as the starter for Week 1.

Garoppolo didn’t play beyond the first drive, but he’ll have more snaps in the coming preseason games. Chemistry is everything, and Sherfield has a chance to show the chemistry carries over from the practice field to the actual field.

Sherfield doesn’t have to tear the house down, he’s only going for the third wide receiver role after all, but if he shows he has the best chemistry with Garoppolo out of all of the other receivers competing with him then it should seal his spot on the offense.

It’s all up to Sherfield. If he connects with Garoppolo in the final two preseason games, he’s going to be featured very heavily for the 49ers in 2021.