This 49ers receiver doesn’t benefit from Jimmy Garoppolo return

While there could be some 49ers players happy to see Jimmy Garoppolo return to starting action, there’s one receiver who won’t benefit.

Whether or not you believe it to be true, there are at least reports of some San Francisco 49ers players “happy” with the fact the Niners have to once again turn to quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo this season in the wake of second-year signal-caller Trey Lance‘s season-ending ankle injury suffered during the team’s Week 2 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

Yes, a few players probably do benefit from having Garoppolo under center in contrast to Lance. Xs and Os matter here, as do the physical abilities of both quarterbacks. But one can’t deny the rapport Garoppolo has long established with a number of his top targets, namely tight end George Kittle and wide receiver Deebo Samuel, both of whom have served as primary go-to options for Jimmy G in the past.

Not all of San Francisco’s receiving options stand to benefit from Garoppolo returning to action, though, and one particular player’s stock value likely takes a massive hit from this development.

49ers roster: Danny Gray no longer has same value with Jimmy Garoppolo

For a good chunk of the 2021 season, the 49ers used wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk as a deep-threat option to open things up elsewhere on the field.

It was a mixed bag of results, and subsequent attempts to infuse Aiyuk into the offensive fray were OK at best, prompting Niners Nation’s Kyle Posey to make the argument that Aiyuk and Garoppolo never truly jelled.

To help alleviate that, San Francisco used a third-round NFL Draft pick on the speedy wideout from SMU, Danny Gray, whose 4.33 40-yard time was fully intended to stretch the field.

With Lance under center, of course.

Lance and the rookie displayed this type of deep-threat connection during the preseason on an impressive 76-yard go-route touchdown:

With Gray in tow, the 49ers wide receiver room consisting of Samuel, Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings appeared about as complete as could be under head coach Kyle Shanahan. Paired with Lance’s strong-arm capabilities, no section of the field was marked as unavailable.

At least in theory.

However, that’s not expected to be an element Garoppolo will be able to take advantage of.

Danny Gray’s skill set doesn’t match what Jimmy Garoppolo does

Gray’s primary ability is his speed. Not his hands, not his crisp route-running capability. While those may develop in time, the No. 1 asset he brings to the table now is his ability to go deep.

Much like Aiyuk didn’t impact the stat sheet early in 2021, despite getting open deep on more than just a handful of occasions, Gray performing this gadget-type role doesn’t look to generate the same kind of success it could have with Lance under center.

Garoppolo lives in between the numbers and rarely tests defenses beyond 10 yards from the line of scrimmage. Case in point, his Next Gen Stats passing chart from last season’s NFC Championship game exemplifies this:

Now, this doesn’t mean Garoppolo will never go outside the numbers and never attempt passes of 10-plus yards.

Read More: Analyzing 49ers’ opening 53-man roster for 2022

But those aren’t his strengths. By contrast, Gray’s best attribute doesn’t mesh with what Garoppolo will do best.

Now, Garoppolo did target Gray after coming in relief of Lance in Week 2, although Gray was on the field for only three offensive snaps. Perhaps that’s a sign that Shanahan isn’t quite ready to deploy Gray on a regular basis rather than any sort of lack of rapport with Garoppolo’s abilities, and the fact the quarterback wasn’t hesitant to look in his direction is possibly good news.

However, Gray was drafted to be a complement to Lance’s strong-arm capability, not the underneath tosses for which Garoppolo is known.