Brock Purdy Raves About 49ers Rookie Wide Receiver Jordan Watkins

It's extremely early in the offseason, but the most impressive rookie on the team so far is wide receiver Jordan Watkins.

He was a late fourth-round pick, so he has no expectations. Last year's fourth-round pick Jacob Cowing caught four passes as a rookie. Sometimes, wide receivers take years to develop.

Not Watkins, apparently. Through two weeks of OTAs, he already is playing with the starters and impressing Brock Purdy.

"He's balling, man," Purdy said. "Jordan Watkins has been balling from day one really. He's come in and he's done everything pretty right and he's been on point. He's had a lot of explosive plays down the field. Obviously, the short game, the intermediate, he's making plays all around. So, I'm excited for him. Obviously, we know it's a process throughout this whole thing, from OTAs, to the 40 days away, to camp and I know he knows that. I'm really excited to keep working with him and for him to keep learning our offense and how we do things. But definitely a rookie that has popped out in front of everybody."

This is big praise from Purdy. He absolutely would not say these things if he didn't mean them. He doesn't coddle young players. He was calling rookies "kids" in 2023 during his second season in the league.

There's a reason Purdy keeps throwing Watkins the ball in practice -- he's open and Purdy trusts him because he catches the ball down the field. He also can do lots of the gadget run plays that Deebo Samuel used to do.

Don't be surprised if Watkins becomes a starter at some point in his career. He's taking off.