Getty 49ers WR Jauan Jennings
It perhaps was not the 49ers wide receiver news most wanted to hear—Brandon Aiyuk is still without an extension—but the team and valuable third receiver Jauan Jennings reached an agreement on May 29 on a two-year deal worth up to $15 million, with $10.4 million guaranteed.
Jennings missed four games with an injury last year, and tallied just 19 catches for 265 yards during the season, but was excellent during the playoffs. He totaled 10 catches on 13 postseason targets for 111 yards and a touchdown, a reliable option for quarterback Brock Purdy in tight situations.
Certainly, in 2023, Jennings earned a reputation as a player who could come up with clutch catches. Including the playoffs, 20 of Jennings’ 29 catches went for first downs, displaying his sense of determination and field awareness.
Jennings, a seventh-round draft pick from Tennessee in 2021, left an impression on his teammates, too, as much for his tenacious blocking and toughness as for his receiving skills. That includes fellow tough-blocking pass-catcher George Kittle.
“I think every single person in NFL that watches tape, every general manager, every scout, anybody that watches tape, they look at Jauan’s film, they’re like, ‘Holy cow, this guy is one-of-one,'” Kittle told the media on May 29.
Jauan Jennings Plays With an Edge
Jennings is three years into his NFL career and has a total of 78 catches for 963 yards. He is easily overshadowed in the arsenal of offensive weapons that the 49ers have, including Aiyuk and Kittle, plus Deebo Samuel and running back Christian McCaffrey.
Jennings plays with an edge that some of the other 49ers seem to lack, especially in the playoffs. Kittle recognizes that edge in his young (Jennings is 26) teammate.
“His mindset and his attitude when he’s on a football field is completely different. He goes to that dark place that Coach [Kyle] Shanahan would talk about,” Kittle said.
Remember, Jennings caught the fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Purdy in the Super Bowl, giving the 49ers the lead they eventually lost.
The Super Bowl showed Jauan Jennings to be a WR who can be much more than a role player for the 49ers.
He’ll never be *the* focal point but he has the skill set to thrive more regularly as a prominent feature of the passing game. That new contract could soon be a steal.
“He just is very violent in the way that he plays the game, which you don’t see in all receivers,” Kittle said. “Jauan will hit defensive ends as hard as he can. He’ll hit linebackers as hard as he can. He’s not scared of anything. And if you need him to win on a one-on-one rep, he’s going to win on that one-on-one rep. He’s got incredibly strong hands.”
49ers Value Blocking Skills
Kittle said that even though Jennings does not put up the eye-popping numbers his teammates accumulate, his dedication and consistency help drive the group. At Pro Football Focus, Jennings rated a 74.1 grade, good for 37th out of the 128 eligible receivers.
At 73.0, he was third among all 49ers in passing-block grade, behind only left tackle Trent Williams and fullback Kyle Juszcyzk.
“For a guy that does it all, he runs the routes, he does the run game, he shows up every day, loving the game, with a great attitude every single day, and then you get the game day, and he makes all those plays, that’s someone that you want to be in your building,” Kittle said.
“That’s something that you want to pay. That’s someone you want to reward because he’s just going to keep bringing that every single day, and he’s just going to raise the standard of everybody around him. So when you have a guy like that, that does everything, it’s great for us.”