We love us some Jauan Jennings
The 49ers have the number one ranked receiving corps, according to PFF, which includes George Kitlle and Christian McCaffrey. Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk garner the most attention as the top two 49ers wide receivers. Deebo and Aiyuk are the only tandem ranked in the top ten receivers on PFF’s list. Following the NFL draft, the 49ers drafted two receivers. Ricky Pearsall was in the first round, and Jacob Cowing was in the fourth round.
The forgotten receiver in the bunch seems to be Jauan Jennings. After the 49ers drafted Pearsall and Cowing, many speculated it signaled the departure of one of Samuel and Jennings next season, if not both. The 49ers locked Jennings in with an extension, which was a clear statement of how they feel about the former seventh-round pick.
Jennings has embodied the 49ers way with his toughness as a blocker but is known as “third and Jauan” since most of his catches come on third down and in clutch situations. There is a strong argument that if the 49ers finished the Super Bowl as a winner, Jennings would have won MVP.
Lauren Gray of Pro Football Focus released her article highlighting the top receivers by open-target rate in 2023, and neither Aiyuk nor Samuel is on the list.
Jennings, however, ranks in the top ten, and here is what Gray said about Jauan:
Jennings ranked fifth on the 49ers in target rate (16.8%), catching 29 passes for 376 yards. He stepped up in the postseason, gaining eight first downs on ten catches while leading the team in passer rating when targeted (133.0). The fifth-year receiver enters training camp set to battle rookies Ricky Pearsall and Jacob Cowing for slot duties in 2024.
Of Jennings’s 42 total targets, 36 were considered “open,” finishing with an 85.7 open target rate. During the 49ers’ postseason run in 2023, Jennings was clutch on money downs. On 12 targets, Jennings hauled in ten for 111 receiving yards and a touchdown, which finished second behind Samuel. Eight of the ten catches went for first downs.
Jennings is valuable to the 49ers, as evidenced by the two-year extension the team signed him to, which is worth up to 15.4 million with 10.5 million guaranteed. The team believed Jennings would garner attention from teams looking for receiver help.
“Third and Jauan” is here to stay. The question becomes: who will be his running mates next season and beyond?
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