Former Vols WR Jauan Jennings' new career high reflects his importance to 49ers' offense
The San Francisco 49ers looked flat-out unstoppable just two weeks ago. But even in an 18-week regular season, there are peaks and valleys for pretty much every team, and the Niners are no different. The last two weeks have been a reality check for San Francisco, with losses against Cleveland and Minnesota on the road […]
The San Francisco 49ers looked flat-out unstoppable just two weeks ago. But even in an 18-week regular season, there are peaks and valleys for pretty much every team, and the Niners are no different.
The last two weeks have been a reality check for San Francisco, with losses against Cleveland and Minnesota on the road where the 49ers' offense settled for 17 points in both. It had no small part to do with the shoulder injury sustained by Deebo Samuel in the first half against the Browns.
However, one player whose role increased on Monday night against the Vikings was Jauan Jennings. The former Tennessee Vols wide receiver shattered a career high with 9 targets, turning them in to 5 catches for 55 yards. Even with Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle on the field, it was Jennings who Brock Purdy had his eye on the most as the Niners looked to erase 10-0 and 19-7 deficits throughout the game.
Jennings has been a streaky player in San Francisco, with spurts where he looks like he's going to become a solid #2 wide receiver and other times where he completely disappears from the gameplan. His finish to the 2021 season shows the type of player he can be. In the Niners' season finale against the Rams, he caught 6 of 7 targets for 94 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown with 26 seconds left to send the game to overtime, in which the Niners would prevail 27-24 and clinch a playoff spot.
2022 was a different story, as he turned in 35 catches for 416 yards and a touchdown on the season. The thing is, he really wasn't needed as a major receiving threat in Kyle Shanahan's offense. A big and aggressive blocker, he helped perform some of the dirty work blocking on the outside as San Francisco rolled off 10 straight wins to end the regular season.
Now, it appears the one known as the "Juice Man" during his time in Tennessee (for bringing juice and energy to the sideline) as well as a "Dog" is ready to help the 49ers offense find some juice in the passing game as the team awaits the return of Samuel.
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