ESPN ended the first week of March by delivering a terrible Jauan Jennings take.
Jennings, a former Tennessee Vols wide receiver who has spent the first four years of his NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers, is set to be a restricted free agent when the new league year begins next week.
On Friday, ESPN's Bill Barnwell revealed his free agency tiers for each position. At wide receiver, Barnwell listed six tiers, ranging from franchise wide receiver to backups likely to earn roster spots.
Barnwell, somewhat surprisingly, listed Jennings in tier six, among players like Chase Claypool, Mack Hollins, and Rashid Shaheed.
From ESPN: Jennings is a traditional restricted free agent, and coming off a Super Bowl in which he both threw and caught a touchdown, I wonder whether there will be interest in the 2020 seventh-round pick. Jennings doesn't have great speed, but he's a big body (6-3) who can work the middle of the field and shrug off tackles after catching the ball.
Barnwell must not be aware that NFL teams don't operate like fantasy football teams. It's not always about the receptions and receiving yards.
Jennings is a wide receiver who is usually only going to record a couple of receptions a game -- he's never going to put up gaudy numbers. But he played a lot of football last season for the NFC Champions because of how valuable he is on the field.
The former Vol is a relentless blocker who embodies what it means to be a "team player". That's why Jennings played 40 snaps in the Super Bowl.
49ers linebacker Fred Warner, a three-time Pro Bowler, said during the Super Bowl that Jennings is one of the best players he's ever played with.
Jennings' teammates think he's great. He plays a significant amount of snaps for one of the best teams in the NFL. And he had the best game of his career in the biggest game of his career (caught a touchdown and threw a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl). He's absolutely a starting caliber wide receiver in the NFL.
Barnwell may think that Jennings is just a tier six wide receiver because he doesn't have elite speed and doesn't put up big numbers, but the rest of the NFL seems to think he's a tremendous football player.
And I'm sure Jennings cares way more about what his peers in the NFL think over someone who covers the sport for ESPN.
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