Clear-cut studs, duds from 49ers preseason win over Vikings

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Jauan Jennings, Josh Metellus, San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings safety Josh Metellus (44) breaks up a pass intended for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports /

49ers dud: Catching the ball

It was a bit more of a problem in the first half, but both Brock Purdy and Nate Sudfeld weren’t exactly aided by all of their receiving targets throughout the game.

In fact, a number of San Francisco’s pass-catchers had some absolutely horrid drops.

Let’s go through some of the bad drops the 49ers had:

WR Jauan Jennings on a 3rd-and-3
RB JaMycal Hasty on a 3rd-and-14
TE Tanner Hudson on a 3rd-and-7
RB Trey Sermon on a 4th-and-3

No wonder the 49ers started off going 0-of-7 on third-down tries and couldn’t convert either of their two fourth-down attempts.

Jennings’ drop was broken up partially by Vikings safety Josh Metellus, yet the Niners wideout had had issues with his hands for much of training camp.

Hudson, known for better hands, dropped an easy catch without a defender within 5 yards of him, while both Hasty and Sermon couldn’t serve as that go-to pass-catcher out of the backfield.

Again, these are preseason concerns, yet the Niners may want to ensure the entirety of their receiving corps spends some time on the jugs machine before the regular season kicks off.