It looked entering training camp like the 49ers receiving corps would be mostly set. Assuming Brandon Aiyuk returns it would be him, Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall, Jacob Cowing, and then one of a handful of players ranging from Danny Gray to Tay Martin.
One player, a veteran free agent signing this offseason, didn’t appear to be heavily in the mix. After a full week of padless practices and one day of practice in pads, Trent Taylor has forced his way into the conversation.
Taylor, a 2017 fifth-round pick of the 49ers, has spent the last three years in Cincinnati and Chicago working primarily as a punt returner. He had only eight catches on 15 targets in 37 games across those three years.
His specialization as a punt returner made it hard to envision him securing a roster spot in a crowded wide receiver room. Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Monday in his post-practice press conference made it sound like there’s a real chance Taylor winds up landing the final WR spot.
“I love having Trent back here,” Shanahan said. “Trent can help out anywhere. Trent’s such a good football player. The moment’s never too big for him. He knows the offense well. He can hop in at all three spots. Competes his ass off in everything he does and he’s very valuable as a returner too. So, especially having a lot of guys in and out, it’s good to have some versatility there with Trent.”
Between Aiyuk’s hold-in and injuries to WRs Tay Martin, Ricky Pearsall and Jacob Cowing, snaps have been easy to come by in the receiving corps. Taylor’s snaps at receiver haven’t come solely because of injury, though. Shanahan said the plan wasn’t to strictly bring in Taylor to return kicks.
“No, you always want a group of receivers in camp,” Shanahan said. “And you know you’re going to get a few in the draft, possibly a free agency after the draft. You have the guys that you already have on the roster and you want to add harder competition. I always love getting some veterans in here who know how to play. Who the game is not too big for, that hopefully can add competition to possibly make your team, or make guys better who have to be very good to beat out some guys like that. And you always like guys like that as possible practice squad players too, because when they have experience and something happens on a Friday or Saturday, the game is never too big for them. You can get them up and they don’t blink.”
For now it looks like the practice squad is the much more likely outcome for Taylor. He’s perfect in that role as a reliable veteran option who can plug a bunch of holes in the 49ers’ receiving corps as needed, while also offering reliability as a punt returner.
This is something worth watching closely throughout camp. The 49ers don’t have a true slot receiver and Taylor showed when he first got to San Francisco some pass-catching chops. That was eight seasons and a couple injuries ago for him, but it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out if he develops any kind of rapport with quarterback Brock Purdy.
It might’ve been easy to overlook Taylor to start camp. Now he’s making sure he’s at least in the mix to make the team.