Trent Taylor? Ronnie Bell? Chris Conley? Danny Gray? A handful of players are fighting for one spot
Last year, the team kept six wide receivers when the San Francisco 49ers made their final cuts ahead of the regular season. Two of them, Ronnie Bell and Danny Gray, are on the outside looking in heading into the preseason finale. One, Ray-Ray McCloud, is an Atlanta Falcon.
Let’s act as if Brandon Aiyuk has a contract extension by Week 1. Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall, and Jacob Cowing make the roster. Your fourth-round pick would have to be disastrous released ahead of September.
In fact, Pearsall has been hurt twice, but he’s a first-rounder who will inevitably be part of the offense’s plans at some point this season.
That leaves one spot for six players:
Gray
Bell
Trent Taylor
Tay Martin
Robbie Chosen
Chris Conley
Chosen is behind the 8-ball after recently signing with the Niners. He also missed the first two preseason games. Kyle Shanahan is excited about him, but he’ll need to go above and beyond in practice.
Martin is a practice squad-caliber player.
I will stand on Cowing being the player the 49ers had hoped Gray would turn out to be. Gray, unfortunately, is a one-trick pony who has not had an opportunity to show off any other skill set to date. He’ll be on the practice squad.
Process of elimination brings us to Bell, Taylor, and Conley. It’ll come down to this trio, as each brings something to the table on special teams. But I’m drawing a red line through Taylor’s name after Week 2.
After struggling in Week 1 with five return attempts, the team stripped him of those duties against the Saints. That means Taylor, at 180 pounds, must solely rely on his ability to create separation.
He ended up on the ground a couple of times after defenders re-routed him and caught two of his four targets for 12 yards. Defensive backs were all over him. Known for being “quicker than fast,” Taylor no longer has the elusiveness from his rookie days.
Will Shanahan go with a second-year seventh-rounder or the veteran who has been around since 2015?
The 49ers went out of their way to target Bell in Week 2. He caught two of his seven targets, and both receptions were contested. Bell does not have a second gear to create separation—something Conley can say he has.
Bell is listed at 6’, 192 pounds, compared to Conley at 6’3, 205. We know how important blocking is, and while Bell is tenacious, you’re going to side with the bigger, stronger athlete.
Shanahan raves about Conley at every opportunity. He’s also been starting at X receiver with Aiyuk sidelined. One player played 89 snaps during the 2023 playoff run, including five at wide receiver in the Super Bowl; the other did not step onto the field for a single snap last postseason.
Expect Conley to be WR6 in 2024.