The 49ers might need to consider a change at the wide receiver position after their devastating 27-24 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
With Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle all out due to injuries, coach Kyle Shanahan was in need of players to step up and take advantage of the opportunities in the passing game. Jauan Jennings did just that, catching 11 of his 12 targets for 175 yards and three touchdowns.
But who is next in line?
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Outside of Brandon Aiyuk, who caught five of his 10 targets for 48 yards, Ronnie Bell was the only other wide receiver targeted by Brock Purdy. The Michigan product caught one of his three targets, dropping a critical pass late in the fourth quarter that furthered the 49ers' collapse in Southern California.
Shanahan explained after the loss that the blame does not fall only on Bell’s shoulders.
“There are other catches in the game that we want people to make, but you hope that it doesn’t have to come down to that,” Shanahan said. “But you know, Ronnie would say the same thing. He needs to make that catch but if he doesn’t, then he’d like to be able to overcome it. I know he can overcome it in other ways but we didn’t.”
Kyle Shanahan shares his thoughts on Ronnie Bell's big dropped pass late in the game pic.twitter.com/taGAAnCqKc
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Jacob Cowing, who already claimed the 49ers' punt return job over Bell, is healthy and might already be a more reliable target than Bell. The rookie has yet to be on the field for an offensive play but already has been active on game days as part of the special teams unit, thus San Francisco would not need to create an extra spot on the 48-player game day roster.
The rookie receiver told NBC Sports Bay Area that he has been soaking in everything he can from the veterans in the room.
"Definitely," Cowing said. "[Jennings has] been helping me since Day 1. I've been watching everything he does, listening to everything he says. All of them -- Deebo, Brandon -- all of them. All good people."
During Cowing's five-year college career — three at UTEP before transferring and spending his final two at Arizona -- the speedy receiver hauled in 316 catches for 4,477 yards and 33 total touchdowns over 58 contests.
Cowing boasts two collegiate 1,000-yard seasons, including a 69-catch 1,354 campaign at UTEP in 2021 that included seven touchdowns and a 19.6 average yards per catch. The versatile wideout also recorded four rushing attempts for 75 yards and an additional score on the ground that year.
Cowing, selected No. 135 overall by the 49ers in the 2024 NFL Draft, also brings speed. The 5-foot-8 rookie ran a 4.38 40-yard dash a the NFL Scouting Combine that would make him effective in jet-sweep situations, as well as getting open on go-routes. Over his college career, Cowing carried the ball 12 times for 102 yards for an 8.5 yard per carry average.
In Bell’s two seasons with the 49ers, the receiver has been on the field for 232 offensive snaps registering seven receptions on 16 targets for 80 yards and three touchdowns. The 24-year-old was more involved on special teams, notching 10 punt returns for 70 yards.
Bell had a chance to show what he was capable of in the final regular season game of the 2023 NFL season when nearly all of the 49ers' starters sat out. He was on the field for 38 offensive snaps and caught one of his five targets for five yards.
As the 49ers prepares to face the New England Patriots in Week 4, Shanahan should consider adding Cowing into the mix at wide receiver if the absences of Purdy's top targets continues.