Do not sleep on a pair of veteran 49ers wide receivers this season

The San Francisco 49ers drafted two exciting wide receivers earlier this year in Ricky Pearsall and Jacob Cowing. H

owever, fans should not sleep on two veteran wide outs, Trent Taylor and Chris Conley, who could still make very valuable contributions to the team.

49ers fans should not sleep on Trent Taylor and Chris Conley

It is understandable why fans are excited about Pearsall and Cowing. Anytime head coach Kyle Shanahan gets some new toys for Christmas, we all want to see how his innovative offensive mind is going to use them.

We have also seen that Shanahan is very hard on his young wide receivers and demands a lot from them. When Shanahan played football he was a wide receiver, so it makes sense why he demands so much out of that position group. We all remember the days when Brandon Aiyuk was supposedly in Shanahan's "dog house."

That is why fans should maybe pump the brakes on expecting both Pearsall and Cowing to make a huge difference right away. Both clearly have the talent and skills to be good receivers, but if they struggle with learning the playbook, running routes, or blocking then you know that Shanahan will not hesitate to bench them in favor of someone who has the basics down.

That is why two veterans, Trent Taylor and Chris Conley, could play more of a role than many think.

Both Taylor and Conley have established themselves as solid NFL players. Taylor has been more of a kick returner in recent years, but he knows how to play receiver. And Conley provides value on special teams as a gunner as well, but he made some big catches in the postseason last year, too.

Plus, reporting suggests that both Conley and Taylor have been early standouts at training camp this year. If they keep playing strong in practice then they may just force the Niners to put them on the 53-man roster or at the very least have them on the practice squad.

It is easy to get drawn to what is new and flashy. But oftentimes what is rewarded is hard work and guys who demonstrate in practice that they are doing what it takes to help the team win. Both Taylor and Conley can help the Niners on special teams and as pass-catchers.

That makes them two guys to keep an eye on this year who may not be stars but could play solid football that helps the team win.

Read more from Niner Noise