49ers have plenty to choose from at receiver in draft

The 49ers don’t need to find the next Jerry Rice or the next Julio Jones. They just need to find the next Emmanuel Sanders.

Doable.

The 49ers traded for Sanders at the trade deadline last season, and he instantly solidified them as Super Bowl contenders. And now he’s on the Saints. The 49ers will have to find his replacement in the upcoming draft.

The 49ers were in a similar position last year when they had to draft a replacement for Pierre Garçon, their fearless, rugged wide receiver who retired. Garçon specialized in taking big hits while making tough catches in traffic. His replacement had to be strong and tough enough to withstand collisions with linebackers.

So the 49ers spent their second-round pick on Deebo Samuel, a 214-pound receiver who is built like a running back. And they spent their third-round pick on Jalen Hurd, a 227-pound receiver who played running back for three seasons in college at Tennessee.

Sanders is much smaller - just 180 pounds. He looks like a civilian. The 49ers didn’t ask him to run lots of shallow routes into the teeth of the defense where he could get crushed, nor did they ask him to run reverses and play like a running back.

The 49ers asked Sanders to be their deep threat, the guy who runs the post routes and sprints past the last line of defense. Think of the end of the Super Bowl when Sanders ran deep down the middle of the field but Jimmy Garoppolo overthrew him. The Niners also asked Sanders to be their slot receiver, where he used his quickness and agility to run slants and other shallow routes.

Sanders’ replacement must be fast enough to run deep and quick enough to play in the slot. Those are the requirements. Size does not matter. Last year, the first wide receiver drafted was Hollywood Brown by the Baltimore Ravens. He weighs 166 pounds. Someone like him would be a perfect Sanders replacement. The 49ers don’t need a big, tall, traditional No.1 wide receiver, because they have George Kittle, who essentially is their big, tall No. 1 receiver.

The 49ers have two first-round picks in the upcoming draft. Here are five wide receivers they could take who fit Sanders’ role in the offense.

1. Jerry Jeudy, Alabama.

Size: 6-foot-1, 193 pounds.

When the 49ers traded DeForest Buckner to the Colts for the 13th pick in the draft, many experts believed the 49ers were trading up for Jerry Jeudy.

Jeudy is what the 49ers hoped Dante Pettis would be - an elite route runner who consistently beats man-to-man coverage. Pettis came from the Pac-12 - he went to Washington - and has struggled transitioning to the speed and violence of the NFL. Jeudy played in the SEC, which is the fastest, most violent conference in the NCAA. He should transition to the NFL just fine.

At the NFL Scouting Combine in February, Jeudy ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash, meaning he’s fast enough to be a deep threat. And he was a terrific slot receiver in college.

Most draft experts consider Jeudy the best wide-receiver prospect to come out of college since Amari Cooper, who was the fourth pick in the 2015 draft. Jeudy could be a top-five pick as well. The 49ers probably would have to package picks No. 13 and 31 to trade up for Jeudy, an expensive price to pay when the 49ers simply can stand pat and draft a quality receiver later on.

2. Henry Ruggs III, Alabama.

Size: 5-11, 188 pounds.

Ruggs was Alabama’s No. 2 receiver after Jeudy, and Ruggs has a better chance to be available when the 49ers pick at 13.

Jeudy is a better route-runner and a more complete receiver than Ruggs. But Ruggs is the fastest receiver in the draft - he ran a 4.27 at the combine. And he’s quick enough to play in the slot. He and Sanders are quite similar.

But this year’s class of draft-eligible wide receivers is considered one of the best ever. Meaning the 49ers can wait until the 31st pick to take a receiver and still find a high-end starter, while using the 13th pick to improve a defense that just lost its best player - Buckner. This seems like the prudent move.

3. Justin Jefferson, LSU.

Size: 6-1, 202 pounds.

Jefferson was the primary slot receiver for LSU, which won the National Championship last season. He had 1,540 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns in 15 games.

Some scouts questioned Jefferson’s speed until he ran a 4.43 at the combine. Now it’s clear he’s fast. And we already know he can play in the slot.

Before he ran a 4.43, draft experts considered Jefferson a late first-rounder, someone the 49ers could take with the 31st pick. After the combine, his stock soared, and now he probably will be a top-20 pick. Meaning the 49ers probably would have to trade down from pick 13 to get him. It’s unlikely the 49ers would use pick No. 13 to take him.

4. K.J. Hamler, Penn State.

Size: 5-9, 178 pounds.

Hamler is one of the smallest receivers in the draft, but also one of the fastest, although he didn’t run a 40 at the combine -he had a hamstring injury. He probably would have recorded a 4.3 if he were healthy.

Hamler played in a run-first offense with subpar quarterbacks, but still consistently made enormous plays, whether he was catching short passes and running through defenses, or catching long passes and running away from defenses. He averaged 16.9 yards per catch in college.

With Hamler’s speed, he could have tracked down Garoppolo’s deep pass in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, the one Sanders couldn’t catch. Hamler might be the perfect choice for the 49ers with the 31st pick, if they keep it.

5. Bryan Edwards, South Carolina.

Size: 6-3, 212 pounds.

Like Hamler, Edwards didn’t run at the combine. But he’s big and fast - a legitimate deep threat. And he played in college with Deebo Samuel. So they complement each other.

Edwards isn’t particularly versatile - he’s not quick or agile enough to beat defenders consistently from the slot. But he’s still a good player who could start at split end for the 49ers, and he’s cheap. The 49ers could trade down to the end of the second round and still land Edwards, because they currently have no picks between Rounds 1 and 5. Trading down would make sense.

The 49ers have so many ways to replace Sanders.

Which way will they choose?