With a 2-0 start to the 2025 season, the San Francisco 49ers are off to a great start entering Week 3. San Francisco's offense has looked sharp regardless of which quarterback they used.
Early injuries to star All-Pro tight end George Kittle has not slowed the Niners offense down. Not only have backups Jake Tonges and Luke Farrell recorded a score like Kittle this season, but San Francisco's depth at wide receiver has been a blessing in disguise.
Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall are two of the starting wideouts and favored targets. The 49ers also have wide receiver Demarcus Robinson serving the last of his three-game suspension issued by the league entering Week 3, and recently added a familiar pass catcher in Kendrick Bourne this month has helped, too. The Niners' depth chart also includes rookie Jordan Watkins, too.
All this while star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is potentially just weeks away from his return after tearing his ACL and MCL last season.
What will 49ers do at WR when Brandon Aiyuk returns?
According to David Bonilla with 49erswebzone.com, "The 49ers remain optimistic that Aiyuk will return and make an impact in 2025, providing [Brock] Purdy with another proven playmaker and bolstering the receiving corps as the team aims for a return to the postseason."
With that being said, by the time Aiyuk does come back, San Francisco's extensive wide receiver room becomes a matter of "who" instead of an issue of "from where." Head coach Kyle Shanahan prefers
One option is to relegate Watkins to injured reserve, as he has yet to make his NFL debut because of injury this season, although that would certainly hinder his promising development.
A pair of former Kansas City Chiefs receivers, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Skyy Moore, may also become trade bait or even expendable with a crowded wide receiver room. Anticipating a need for depth with injuries and Robinson's suspension, having this many pass catchers made sense at the time of their acquisition but not so much upon Aiyuk's return.
With Aiyuk reportedly just weeks away from his return, some veterans on offense may be cut. So long as the 49ers keep scoring touchdowns and winning football games, this isn't a bad problem for Shanahan and his team to have.
Fortunately, at least for now, it's a decision Shanahan doesn't have to make quite yet.
