49ers wide receiver depth chart looks impossibly bleak without Jauan Jennings

The San Francisco 49ers got some unwelcome news last week with Jauan Jennings demanding a new contract and wanting to be traded if that demand is not met. Taking a look at the wide receiver depth chart without Jennings is scary.

With many teams connected to Jennings already and new teams in need of wide receivers, it is not impossible the Niners would trade Jennings even if that goes against how they usually handle these situations.

It would be interesting to see what the 49ers could get for Jennings in a trade, but unless they got a wide receiver who is a proven starter, his departure could leave the team's wide receiver depth chart in a state of disarray to begin the 2025 season.

It is important to keep a few things in mind. While there is optimism that Brandon Aiyuk could be ready by Week 1 as he recovers from his season-ending knee injury, that still feels like a longshot. Ricky Pearsall has been dealing with a hamstring issue, so both he and Aiyuk were placed on the physically unable-to-perform (PUP) list ahead of training camp.

Plus, Demarcus Robinson could be dealt a suspension by the NFL for a DUI incident last year. The typical suspension for something like that is three games.

Let's imagine a worst-case scenario where the 49ers either trade Jennings or he decided to hold out and not play until he gets a new deal, Aiyuk isn't ready by Week 1, Robinson gets suspended for the first three games of the season, and Pearsall aggravates his hamstring in the preseason and is not ready for the start of the season.

That means the team's top receiver would be... second-year wideout Jacob Cowing? A guy who had four catches last season. That scenario would be... less than ideal. The Niners would have to rely upon other unproven players like rookies Jordan Watkins and Isaiah Neyor.

In this sort of scenario, San Francisco would have to go out and either sign someone or make a trade because quarterback Brock Purdy throwing to those guys exclusively would just not be acceptable.

Yet, this serves to show why Jennings is in a good negotiating position right now. The 49ers truly do need him, so they may end up having to give him a big payday even if that is what they have been trying to avoid.