Receivers could be on 49ers’ mind at combine this week

When John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan joined the 49ers in 2017, their first major move was signing wide receiver Pierre GarÇon.

Now they must replace him.

According to published reports, the 49ers have declined the option in GarÇon’s contract, making him a free agent just two seasons after signing him to a five-year, $47.5 million deal.

The 49ers hoped GarÇon would be their No. 1 receiver. But, in two seasons with the team, he missed 16 games, caught only 64 passes and scored just one touchdown. The 49ers paid him $355,468 per catch.

They still need a No. 1 receiver. They could trade for Antonio Brown of the Pittsburgh Steelers or Odell Beckham Jr. of the New York Giants - both are on the trade block, according to reports. But, both would cost lots of money and draft picks. The 49ers may choose to draft a wide receiver instead.

Deebo Samuel,?South Carolina

Since 2003, every wide receiver Shanahan or his father Mike has drafted before the seventh round were seniors in college. None left school early. So, this breakdown will focus only on senior wide receivers at the combine.

Samuel is the highest-graded senior receiver, according to NFL.com. In 2018, he caught 62 passes, gained 882 receiving yards and scored 11 touchdowns, including seven in the red zone. The 49ers could use a quality red-zone target - their offense ranked dead last in red-zone touchdown percentage last season.

Samuel has drawn comparisons to a young GarÇon. They’re the same size - 6-foot, 210 pounds - and both are tough, violent possession receivers who play with anger and look for collisions. One collision in particular broke Samuel’s leg in 2017. He missed all but three games that season.

Samuel is healthy now. If the 49ers want him, they probably can get him early in the second round, but not after. They have the fourth pick in Round 2.

JJ Arcega-Whiteside,?Stanford

Bigger than Samuel, and an even better red-zone target. Arcega-Whiteside is 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, and he made nine touchdown catches inside the opponents’ 20-yard line last season.

Arcega-Whiteside lacks blazing speed and quickness to get open in the NFL. But, he’s a former all-state high-school basketball player from South Carolina who knows how to “box out” players like a power forward and make contested catches in traffic.

The 49ers likely will keep a close eye on Arcega-Whiteside’s 40-yard-dash time. If it’s faster than 4.55 seconds, he almost certainly will be a second-round pick. If he runs slower than 4.55 seconds, he could drop to Round 3 or 4.

Parris Campbell, Ohio State

A big-play threat, and one of the fastest receivers at the combine. Which means Campbell has nothing in common with Samuel, Arcega-Whiteside or GarÇon, three tough possession receivers.

But, the 49ers might not want a possession receiver.

They may feel they already have one in second-year wide receiver Dante Pettis, whom they drafted with the 12th pick in the second round last year.

Pettis almost certainly will be a starter next season. And although he averaged a whopping 17.3 yards per catch in 2018, he’s not particularly fast for a wide receiver. He runs 4.48, the same time GarÇon ran at the combine in 2008.

Shanahan might want to pair Pettis with a speed receiver, such as Campbell. Shanahan’s play-action offense requires someone fast who runs deep and clears out space for other receivers: “That’s always been extremely important wherever I’ve been in the system we use,” Shanahan said in 2017. “We’ve always targeted a guy who can flat-out run.”

Campbell can flat-out run. He ran a 4.26 40-yard dash last June, but isn’t a pure deep threat. He averaged only 11.8 yards per catch in 2018, because he mostly ran shallow crosses and jet sweeps. He is a wide-receiver-running-back hybrid, similar to Tyreek Hill of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The 49ers don’t have anyone like Campbell. He would make their offense more difficult to defend, and should be available at the beginning of Round 2.

Emanuel Hall, Missouri

A true deep threat, Hall averaged 22.4 yards per catch in 2018, and 24.8 yards per catch in 2017 -gargantuan numbers. NFL.com describes him as a “one-trick pony” with an “excellent combination of size and speed.”

Hall’s speed makes him dangerous in the open field, but not in the red zone, where he caught just two touchdown passes last season. He’s not a possession receiver - he’s just a deep threat, similar to 49ers wide receiver Marquise Goodwin, who is not expected to start next season. Both are one-trick ponies.

If the 49ers want another one, they probably can draft Hall at the beginning of the third round. The 49ers have the third pick in Round 3.

Terry McLaurin, Ohio State

In 2018, McLaurin caught only 35 passes - fourth most on his own team. But, he averaged 20 yards per catch and scored 11 touchdowns, including five in the red zone. Ohio State may have underused him.

McLaurin is no one-trick pony. He’s a precise route-runner who makes deep catches AND tough catches over the middle. He may be the perfect complement for Pettis.

McLaurin recently told reporters he expects to run a 4.35 at the combine. If the 49ers want him, they may have to take him in Round 3.

(The final installment of this four-part series will focus on free safeties.)