The 2026 NFL Draft is just days away, and veteran wide receiver Jauan Jennings remains a free agent.
Had one asked San Francisco 49ers fans over a month ago when the league new year began if that would be the case, most would've probably thought it wouldn't be. Jennings, despite not being a true No. 1 receiver, nevertheless posted back-to-back quality campaigns as a go-to weapon for head coach Kyle Shanahan, as well as a willing blocker whom general manager John Lynch shed all kinds of admiration.
After inking both Mike Evans and Christian Kirk in free agency, though, it was clear Lynch and the Niners weren't bringing Jennings back, and the GM effectively said as much.
But, with rumors and reports of Jennings having priced himself out of other teams' comfort ranges, his still-available status entering the draft is, well... provocative.
And it actually damages San Francisco in the long run, too, albeit in a way many might not immediately think about.
49ers won't get a comp pick for Jauan Jennings departure
With the hours counting down until Round 1 of the draft, no team is going to suddenly pick up the phone to sign Jennings. Teams will wait until the three-day draft is complete before offering him a contract at this point.
That means, because free agents signed after the draft don't count in the NFL's compensatory pick formula, the 49ers won't receive a comp pick for Jennings' free-agent departure.
Emerging bummer for the 49ers: The fact that Jauan Jennings hasn't signed elsewhere yet will probably cost SF a 2027 draft pick.
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) April 21, 2026
Signings after the NFL Draft no longer count toward the comp formula, which evenly cancels out right now — meaning no comp picks pic.twitter.com/apBpOr0hgD
Indeed, a "bummer," as the SF Standard's David Lombardi pointed out above.
The Niners had previously been masters of the comp-pick game, and three of their six selections in the 2026 draft are of this variety, stemming largely from the net loss of qualifying free agents but also, in years prior, because of minority coaches and assistants getting hired on for promotional roles elsewhere.
As it stands now, largely thanks to Jennings potentially pricing himself too high on the open market, San Francisco won't be in line to receive what had previously been a yearly assignment of a compensatory pick.
Bummer.
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