Getty Jauan Jennings celebrating.
When the San Francisco 49ers drafted Jauan Jennings in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft, expectations weren’t exactly through the roof. One of the slowest receivers in the 2020 class with a recorded 4.72 40 time at the combine, Jennings was awarded a priority free agent status by NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, with the veteran scout worrying that his “lack of functional speed and general quickness” could prevent him from hearing his name called over the draft’s three days.
Though the Niners ultimately found themselves a bit higher on Jennings than Zierlein, as they drafted him with the third pick in the seventh round, he ultimately failed to make the 53-man roster coming out of camp and was stuck on the practice squad for the entirety of his rookie season. Still, something about Jennings’ game inspired intrigue in John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan, and the duo opted to sign the former Mr. Tennessee to a futures contract that runs through 2022 and makes him an exclusive rights free agent in 2023.
With another opportunity to make the roster, Jennings proved himself a much-improved player and ultimately stuck around when the roster was trimmed down to 53. Despite a slow start to the regular season, with just 38 yards on five catches and a touchdown amassed between Week 1 and Week 11, Jennings slowly became more and more of a valuable cog in the Niners’ offense and finished out the final seven weeks of the season with 19 more catches for 244 yards and four more touchdowns. With six more catches secured over the team’s three playoff contests for 43 total yards, Jennings entered 2022 in a much different place than one year prior, even after Danny Grey was drafted out of SMU in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft.
Jennings Graded Out Great For The San Francisco 49ers In Week 1
The 49ers’ Week 1 contest against the Chicago Bears is probably one many a fan would like to forget. The field was soaked with rain, the yellow penalty flag flew liberally, and the Niners ultimately secured a loss in a game many favored them to win. Factor in the loss of Elijah Mitchell to an MCL strain, and the prospects of burning the game film and flying back to San Francisco sounded pretty good to the likes of Nick Bosa.
One of the true bright spots that shined through the dreary affair, however, was the play of Jennings, who amassed 62 yards on four receptions as one of the team’s three starting wide receivers. Splitting his time between the perimeter and the slot, Jennings graded out as the Niners’ second-best offensive player behind only Mike McGlinchey according to Pro Football Focus, earning an overall Offensive Grade of 74.2 and a Receiving Grade of 72.4 over 41 offensive snaps.
Jennings recorded the longest catch of the game at 44 yards via a third down post route, picked up a 16-yard reception on the penultimate drive of the game, and even made a few blocks, though he did whiff on one at the goal line that could have helped set up a Jordan Wilson touchdown run. If Jennings can iron out his technique in the run game, there’s little reason to believe Shanahan won’t afford him more than 60 percent of the team’s offensive snaps moving forward, even with Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk in front of him.
Jauan Jennings Has An Intriguing Matchup In Week 2
Historically, Pete Caroll’s team has stacked to a press-zone Cover 3 look that allows perimeter cornerbacks to play “silo” coverage on their respective sides of the field from a single high-alignment, which effectively allowed offensive coordinators to pick their defenders to a degree.
However, as the Seahawks’ Legion of Boom dissipated and the league caught on to the team’s Cover 3 philosophy, Seattle has settled into a new defensive identity dubbed the “CLEO,” which combines elements of Cover 2 and Cover 4.
In Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season, the Seattle Seahawks relied on Michael Jordan and Tariq Woolen on the outside and Justin Coleman in the slot. While Coleman is the most experienced of the three players, as the 29-year-old has played 96 games for four different teams, he stands only 5-foot-11 and earned a 57.2 Pro Football Focus Defensive Grade for his efforts against the Denver Broncos.
If Jennings is able to matchup with Coleman in the slot, he has a reach chance to bully up on the smaller cornerback and secure another miss-matched 40-plus yard reception akin to his Week 1 reception. If, however, Jennings finds himself covered by Woolen, who is a 6-foot-4 corner who ran a 4.28 40 at the combine and didn’t allow a catch on Week 1, his afternoon may not go as smoothly.