After last season, Jauan Jennings deserves his flowers.
Due to the number of injuries, the 2024 season for the San Francisco 49ers was always going to produce performances from players we hadn’t yet seen. Younger players were forced to grow up on the spot after they were thrown into the fire.
However, we finally saw what life would look like if Jauan Jennings were a focal part of the offense. Jennings had one fewer target in 2024 than he had combined in the previous three seasons. Unsurprisingly, Jennings produced career highs across the board.
Jennings came 25 yards short of 1,000 receiving yards, which blew his previous career high of 416 out of the water. Jennings also had six touchdowns, but his consistency helped keep the passing offense afloat. Jennings averaged 65 receiving yards per game, which was more than triple the number in 2023.
All of this led PFF to name Jennings the most underrated player on the roster:
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS: WR Jauan Jennings
Jennings came into the 2024 season facing a crowded depth chart in San Francisco, between Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and even 2024 first-round pick Ricky Pearsall, not to mention the added target competition of George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey.
Despite all odds, Jennings established himself as a top option on offense, ranking in the top 20 in PFF receiving grade (83.7), receptions (77) and yards per route run (2.26) in the regular season among qualifying wide receivers. Thanks to his most recent season, the former seventh-round pick is now in a prime spot to continue his stellar play in 2025.
Jennings did all that without Brandon Aiyuk, with Deebo Samuel looking like a shell of himself and a rookie wide receiver.
Can Jennings re-create his 2024 season in 2025? I’m not sure if that’s something the 49ers want to see. Meaning it’s unclear whether Jennings is viewed as a high-volume wideout. At his best, Jennings was a third-down machine. It wasn’t until last year, by necessity, that the Niners needed to lean heavily on him.
Is Jennings one of those “less is more” players, or will he come close to another 1,000-yard season? Regardless, Jennings deserves his flowers for what he did a season ago when Brock Purdy ran out of reliable targets.
Jennings will have another season to prove himself, as his contract voids after the 2025 season. The lack of an investment in Jennings suggests the 49ers aren’t counting on him moving forward. You could also point to the number of wideouts they’ve drafted. If Jennings performs as he did in 2024 this year, he’ll make some team happy in 2026. If he does walk in free agency, the 49ers could flip Jennings’s production into a comp pick.