49ers' wide receiver depth about to really be tested if Jalen Hurd's injury is as bad as feared
George Kittle better be ready for a lot of targets this season, especially early on.
The San Francisco 49ers are losing receivers at a rapid rate. Emmanuel Sanders left in free agency to the New Orleans Saints. Then Deebo Samuel, a prime candidate to have a big breakout in his second season, suffered a serious foot injury and his status for the start of the season is up in the air.
Then Jalen Hurd, a second-year receiver who looked intriguing last preseason, reportedly suffered an injury that the team fears is a torn ACL.
Jalen Hurd suffered a knee injury in practice
Hurd suffered the injury in practice on Sunday, according to NFL Media. If it’s a torn ACL, he’ll be done for the season.
Hurd, a third-round pick last year, spent all season on injured reserve with a back injury. Before he got hurt, he showed off his wide array of skills in the preseason. He was a running back early in college, has great size at 6-foot-5, 230 pounds and has the run-after-catch ability that the 49ers covet in their receivers.
If Hurd is done that could be a problem for the 49ers’ depth. Samuel should be back from a Jones fracture, but that injury is historically tricky with a high rate of re-injury. Brandon Aiyuk is probably the top receiver on the roster and has talent as a first-round pick, but he’s still a rookie.
If the 49ers don’t catch a positive break soon, their receiving corps will be very thin. It’s a good thing they have Kittle, the highest-paid tight end in NFL history.
49ers have to figure out receiver depth
The injuries to Samuel and Hurd show the challenges in making it back to a Super Bowl.
To win a conference championship, a lot has to go right. The 49ers had some challenges last year too and overcame them, but it’s not easy. Already the 49ers start their defense of an NFC championship with a pretty big concern at receiver. That’s not good.
Perhaps the 49ers have some players emerge and they won’t feel the losses too much. But they won’t want to lose any more receivers before the season starts.
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