Insider: 49ers are changing the way teams approach drafting receivers
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is known as an offensive innovator and his offensive philosophy just may be changing the way other teams build their rosters.
According to ESPN draft expert Matt Miller, many teams around the NFL have taken note of the size and physicality of the 49ers wideouts, which may start to become a new trend across the league.
“I've heard a lot from NFL scouts about how teams are shifting their strategies at wide receiver to mirror the San Francisco 49ers' philosophy on drafting physical pass-catchers,” Miller noted. “South Carolina's Xavier Legette…fits that mold perfectly at 6-foot-3 and 227 pounds. Another player to watch? Washington's Rome Odunze at 6-foot-3 and 217 pounds. Legette is a big riser this season with a Round 3 grade on my board, but Odunze is a legitimate first-round candidate.”
Shanahan has seemingly built his stable of receivers around 2019 second-round pick Deebo Samuel, who at 6-foot, 215 pounds, is the biggest-bodied WR on San Francisco’s roster. Samuel plays like a running back in a receiver’s body with the physicality of a tight end.
Samuel leads all WRs with eight missed tackles forced and his 7.9 yards after contact per reception is the second-most among receivers with 25 or more targets, per Pro Football Focus.
Along with Samuel, the 49ers have five other receivers who are 200 pounds or heavier, and all of them except for two are at least six feet tall. The team spent first- and seventh-round picks on Brandon Aiyuk (6-foot, 200 pounds) and Jauan Jennings (6-foot-3, 212 pounds) in 2020, respectively.
They also signed undrafted free agents Isaiah Winstead (6-foot-4, 213 pounds) and Tay Martin (6-foot-3, 185 pounds) to their practice squad.
Every receiver on the 49ers roster (active and practice squad) is between 6-foot and 6-foot-1 and weighs around 200.5 pounds – a big reason why the team has the fifth-most missed tackles forced (14) in the NFL, per PFF.
Shanahan’s strategy has paid off. His group of pass catchers are all-encompassing; they have size, speed, physicality, can break tackles and catch deep balls or short screens with the best of them – and the rest of the NFL has noticed.
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