49ers to face son of former Niners wide receiver when they host Saints

The 2024 NFL Draft was full of second-generation NFL players. Many of the players whose sons were drafted, were San Francisco 49ers alumni.

Legendary Niners like Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens, and Frank Gore had sons looking to enter the NFL in April. The 49ers didn't draft any of them, although they would sign and eventually waive undrafted free-agent wide receiver Terique Owens, son of Terrell.

There is another son of another 49ers alum that the team will be facing this Sunday, though, when they play the New Orleans Saints in their second preseason game.

That player is wide receiver Cedric Wilson Jr.

Wilson Jr. is, yes you guessed it, the son of Cedric Wilson Sr., who played wide receiver for San Francisco from 2001 to 2004.

The older Wilson was a sixth-round (169th overall) selection of the 49ers in the 2001 NFL Draft. Wilson Sr. would finish his four-year career with the 49ers with 97 receptions, 1,203 receiving yards and six touchdowns.

He also returned 63 kickoffs for 1,354 yards and a touchdown during his time with the team.

After those four seasons with the 49ers, Wilson Sr. joined the Pittsburgh Steelers as a free agent. He would spend his last three NFL seasons with the Steelers.

Just like his father, Wilson Jr. was also a sixth-round selection. He went 208 overall to the Dallas Cowboys in the 2018 NFL Draft.

He spent his first four seasons with Cowboys, then joined the Miami Dolphins in 2022 where he spent the last two seasons. He joined the Saints as a free agent, earlier this year.

Look for Wilson Jr. to probably see more than one target on Sunday, and look for him to also be active in New Orleans' punt return game again.

Since Wilson Jr. is not slated to be a starter, we may see a good amount of him against the 49ers on Sunday. In his preseason appearance last week, he had one reception for one yard. He also returned two punts for 24 total yards.