The panic button is getting close to being pressed by the San Francisco 49ers after their devastating loss to the Los Angeles Rams. They will likely hit that button should they lose in Week 4 to the lowly New England Patriots. It would make the 49ers 1-3 on the season with the playoffs starting to become in doubt. There have been a lot of mistakes made by the 49ers so far this season. Many of those mistakes are instantly correctable, and it starts with featuring wide receiver Jauan Jennings more on offense.
One Player the 49ers Need to Feature More on Offense to Improve
Jauan Jennings
Jauan Jennings completely eviscerated the Rams with a career performance tallying 11 catches for 175 yards and three touchdowns. The only reason the 49ers were in that game was because of the masterclass from Jennings. However, he was only allotted that opportunity due to injuries to George Kittle and Deebo Samuel. Both of them were inactive against the Rams and are expected back this week against the Patriots.
The 49ers could revert to making Jennings an afterthought in the offense. Typically, he has been a player the 49ers target on crucial plays like third downs. But after his outing against the Rams, he has to be featured more for the offense to improve. All of those targets that usually go to Samuel should be shared with Jennings moving forward. He is a much better pure wide receiver than Samuel. Another way to incorporate Jennings more is by utilizing 11-personnel formations (three wide receiver sets).
Head Coach Kyle Shanahan on Jauan Jennings
“I’m always comfortable with Jauan,” said Kyle Shanahan. “But our, if we’re not going 11, it has nothing to do with always trying to get our best 11 people out there. Jauan, I think, has been one of our best 11 people since he’s been here. That usually more has to do with advantages of 21-personnel and things like that. But it’s a good problem to have. I want to get Jauan out there more. He’s that type of player. It doesn’t always mean that you go totally different with your scheme and everything, but you can always rotate him in more too.”
Outlook
Jennings is the one player the 49ers need to feature on offense more, but it is unlikely to occur. The 49ers have an abundance of talent on offense. It is difficult to directly feature Jennings consistently. Plus, Shanahan tends to have his favorites in the offense. Samuel is at the top of Shanahan’s favorites That is why he continues to be delusional by using Samuel on intermediate-to-deep routes despite being below average at it. Jennings provides advantages for the 49ers that Samuel cannot.
The biggest advantage of Jennings is that he doesn’t garner a lot of attention from the defense. The 49ers have to deal with stacked boxes running the football. That means there are one-on-one opportunities for Jennings against lesser defenders. Brandon Aiyuk and Samuel will generally be the focus against top defenders while Jennings takes the on a depth player. Shanahan has to realize that for the offense to improve, he needs to feature Jennings. Otherwise, he is underutilizing the talent that he has.
Main Image: Jayne Kamin-Oncea – USA Today Sports
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