Before there was third-and-Jauan (Jennings), there was Kendrick Bourne.
The former 49ers wide receiver joined NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco and Jennifer Lee Chan on Radio Row in Las Vegas ahead of Super Bowl LVIII and heaped great praise onto Jennings.
"He's a great player," Bourne said Wednesday. "I remember him just being young and kind of watching. He watched. When he got drafted, I don't know what year I was in, but he observed and he learned -- and that's the biggest thing. So I'm so proud of that guy and just how he's growing as a person, as a player.
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"He's somebody I keep up with, too, on social media, telling him to keep going and stuff like that."
Bourne spent the first four seasons of his NFL career with the 49ers, making a respectable impact both on and off the field.
In four seasons with San Francisco from 2017 to 2020, Bourne compiled 137 receptions, 1,769 yards and 11 touchdowns, setting career-highs in receptions (49) and receiving yards (667) during his final season with the team. But perhaps his biggest impact came on third downs and in the red zone.
Sound familiar?
San Francisco 49ers
That now has become the job of Jennings, whom the 49ers repeatedly rely upon in those crucial, potentially game-changing moments. He even picked up the coolest nickname along the way.
"Third-and-Jauan is great," Bourne said. "It's a hard role. And for him to step into it wholeheartedly, blocking the way he does, doing the things he does, those little things, it's going to go a long way. He's going to set himself up for the future."
Bourne signed with the New England Patriots before the 2021 NFL season, but his contact and love remains with his former 49ers teammates.
And as the 49ers prepare to face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, Bourne believes Jennings could be an X-factor for San Francisco as the franchise itches for its sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy.
And with grace and nothing but respect, Bourne gladly has passed the torch onto Jennings.
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