It’s no secret to anyone that the San Francisco 49ers are in need of wide receivers. The fact that they brought back former draft bust Dante Pettis shows just how desperate the team is at that position, given all of the injuries it has already sustained.
One popular rumor has involved a potential trade for Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. While the third-year player doesn’t quite do everything wide receivers in San Francisco are typically expected to do in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense, former 49ers running back Raheem Mostert thinks Thomas would be great in San Francisco.
“I think that will be a great fit for him. You know, with Mike Evans, we’ll see what that injury entails… I think that it’ll be a perfect fit. He can go off the top, and he can make plays.”
While San Francisco’s offense has looked strong the first three weeks of the season, they are going to need another playmaker if they want to get past stout defenses like the Seattle Seahawks. Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Mike Evans, and George Kittle are all potent threats and can still make big plays, but the reality is that they’re all on the wrong side of 30.
Injuries are going to be inevitable with that group, and the Niners could really use a younger threat who can take a little bit of the pressure off that group of veterans.
49ers must make a move after preseason plans have already fallen through
Coming into the year, San Francisco clearly hoped that Ricky Pearsall and De’Zhaun Stribling could accomplish that, but they’ve both been ruled out with long-term injuries. Stribling at least has a chance to come back this season, but with them out and Demarcus Robinson on IR, the 49ers need to make some sort of move to address the deficiency at wide receiver.
Thomas Jr. has fallen out of favor a bit in Jacksonville, as he’s only started one of the team’s three games this season. In those contest, he's hauled in just seven passes for 88 yards on 13 targets.
He has proven he can compete at the NFL level, as his rookie season in 2024 was phenomenal, as he had 1,282 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, but his sophomore slump in 2025, which saw him have only 707 receiving yards and two touchdowns, seemingly sent his career spiraling out of control..
San Francisco is the perfect team to get him back on track. Players love Shanahan’s offense, and with all of the weapons already on the team, Thomas would have a great chance to thrive, especially with how well quarterback Brock Purdy is playing right now.
Mostert is spot-on in his endorsement of this deal, and general manager John Lynch should be working the phones and trying to make something happen in the coming weeks.
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