Who Will Step Up to be the 49ers’ Third Receiver?

Despite knowing of the risk of being suspended for an earlier arrest, the 49ers signed Jerome Simpson to be their third string wide receiver behind Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith. Simpson was suspended for the first six games of the season. This means his spot is open for at least six games.

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The 49ers have a few young guys who are all gunning for that spot. However after the first preseason game, none of them really gained a leg up on the others.

Beside one catch that set up the game winning field goal in his rookie year, Quinton Patton hasn’t shown much. He’s been living on the hype from showing up early to training camp after he was drafted. He has the enthusiasm and the drive that you want to see from a young player, but so far it hasn’t translated onto the field.

Bruce Ellington showed some promise in his rookie year, but mostly with sweeps and returns. He only caught six passes last year. He did catch two of those for touchdowns which is more than you can say for a lot of other 49ers’ pass catchers recently. Ellington is a shifty guy that is perfect for the slot role. With Jarryd Hayne maybe taking over his returner job, he needs to give the coaches a reason to stay on the roster.

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The rookie DeAndrew White and Dres Anderson shined during training camp and gained a bit of hype. They didn’t do much during the first preseason game, but there’s still three more to go. They both need to prove their more than training camp warriors, and that they deserve one of the few, coveted roster spots.

Any of these guys can win the job, it’s just a matter of time until someone steps up and takes it.

Whoever does step up needs to be able to give something to the 49ers passing game, because in recent years only the top of the depth chart has contributed.

The 49ers have good depth at wide receiver, they just need to figure out how to use it. They’ve been at the bottom of the league in passing for the last couple years despite the talent they’ve had. Now they have an abundance of talent that they can’t let go to waste.