49ers who can’t let Brock Purdy down vs. Buccaneers
By Peter Panacy
No. 2: 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings
When in doubt on third down, the 49ers simply target third-year wide receiver Jauan Jennings.
This isn’t surprising when looking back at what Jennings did a year ago, coming up with some key catches in some notable situations. And despite a slowish start to the beginning of the year, Jennings has once again turned into that key third-down weapon for the Niners offense.
After Jimmy Garoppolo developed that chemistry with Jennings, it’ll now be up to Purdy to ensure he has a viable target in those key down-and-distance situations.
Of Jennings’ 15 third-down receptions, 14 of them have gone for first downs. That’s impressive.
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Purdy, meanwhile, has completed over 86 percent of his passes on third down this season, albeit over a small sample size, yet nine of those have gone for a first down.
With the Buccaneers defense ranked fifth in scoring and within the top 10 of a number of other notable categories, Purdy is going to need players like Jennings to come through for him in a big way on third-down scenarios.