There are reports out there the San Francisco 49ers have been meeting with several wide receivers at the NFL Scouting Combine. All of these wideouts have a key trait in common: They are all tall.
This could give us insight into what the Niners are looking for.
Reports have trickled in over the past few days the Niners met with Iowa State receiver Jayden Higgins, TCU wide out Savion Williams, and Ole Miss pass catcher Tre Harris. Higgins is listed at 6-foot-4 by ESPN, Williams is listed at 6-foot-5, and Harris is listed at 6-foot-3.
What does this tell us? It could mean the 49ers are interested in drafting a wide receiver who can be a red-zone threat for the offense. The Niners struggled at times in the red zone last season. They had a steep dropoff from their 2023 production when they got inside the opponent's 20-yard-line. Part of that may have been caused by star running back Christian McCaffrey being out most of the year, but it may also be because San Francisco did not have a tall wide receiver.
The tallest wide receiver on the team is Jauan Jennings at 6-foot-3. Brandon Aiyuk if six feet tall and Ricky Pearsall is not a large red-zone target either.
Tight end George Kittle is 6-foot-5 and is clearly a favorite of quarterback Brock Purdy's when the team gets near the end zone. However, outside of him, San Francisco does not have that player who can go up and catch a ball, beating an opposing defender with his height.
That is why it makes a lot of sense that San Francisco is talking with these taller wideouts. With Deebo Samuel's departure now official, the 49ers have a chance to remake their offense to a certain extent. With Samuel on the team, the Niners had a bruising identity where they were going to run through you. But as Samuel declined and that became a less potent strategy, they can now add elements that were missing so the offense is more varied.
Higgins has boldly stated that he is a red-zone threat at his combine press conference, saying,"I’m a big red-zone threat. If somebody needs someone to go score, that’s me."
That is packed up by the fact that he hauled in nine touchdown catches in his senior year at Iowa State.
That is the exact kind of target the 49ers could need: someone who Purdy can throw the ball up to in the end zone and trust that he is going to come down with it. He surely wouldn't mind throwing to a fellow Cyclone either.
We should not overreact to the Niners meeting with any one player because teams meet with many players.
However, this obvious theme to their wide receiver visits may be giving us a hint that the Niners want to go big, literally, with a potential wide receiver draft selection.
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