John Lynch's belief in bloodlines did not lead the San Francisco 49ers to spend a pick on any of the franchise legacy players available in the 2024 NFL Draft, but shortly after it ended they acquired the son of a franchise great to an undrafted free agent deal.
The 49ers, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, are signing Terique Owens as a UDFA.
Missouri State wide receiver Owens is the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, who starred for the 49ers for eight seasons after being picked by San Francisco in the third round in 1996. He had five 1,000-yard receiving seasons for San Francisco and was a three-time first-team All-Pro with the 49ers before a contentious exit in 2004.
But he was on hand at the 49ers' local pro day to watch Terique, born in the Bay Area during his spell with the Niners, try to impress his former team.
Clearly he did just that, and now he will have the chance to try make the 49ers' roster, or at least the practice squad, with a strong performance during offseason activities and training camp.
In his pre-draft press conference, general manager John Lynch said of the legacy prospects available in the draft:
"Well, I believe in bloodlines. I really do. I mean, I think there’s evidence that you should. Then you have to step away from that and you have to evaluate it. And that’s sometimes difficult to do and that’s why a lot of different eyes, a lot of different perspectives. And that’s what we try to do when we have our R&D look at it, we have our coaches look at it, we have our scouting look at it, we try to hit it from a variety of measuring points and inflection points as to how you grade these guys because you don’t want to do it just off that. That wouldn’t be smart."
The evaluations of Jerry Rice's son Brenden and Frank Gore's son Frank Gore Jr. did not see either become a member of the 49ers. Rice was drafted in the seventh round by the Los Angeles Chargers while Gore signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent. 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey's brother Luke went in the third round to the Washington Commanders.
But Lynch saw plenty of Terrell Owens in Terique when he watched the 49ers' pro day, with that enticing glimpse leading to a feel-good story on the final day of the draft.
Said Lynch on Monday:
"T.O. [former NFL WR Terrell Owens] was out here at the local pro day and his son Terique performed really well and that was pretty cool. I saw him running at me and I played against T.O. a lot and there was something in that stride that was very familiar. It was something about the gait. And it’s crazy how those things translate."
Owens will be hoping they translate to the point where he is able to stick around with San Francisco past the preseason, but for now he can enjoy the fact he is getting the opportunity to follow in his father's footsteps by representing the Niners.
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