Former Tennessee Vols wide receiver Jauan Jennings almost certainly won’t be returning to the San Francisco 49ers in 2026.

Jennings, who spent the first six seasons of his NFL career with the 49ers, is still a free agent after failing to work out a longterm agreement with San Francisco.

Since Jennings is still a free agent, there’s been speculation that the 49ers could circle back to the former Vol at some point this offseason.

But that no longer looks to be a possibility after the 49ers drafted Jennings’ replacement during the 2026 NFL Draft, and kind of insulted him in the process.

San Francisco 49ers draft their Jauan Jennings replacement

The 49ers selected Ole Miss wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling in the second round of the draft.

And they quickly made it clear that he’s the replacement for Jennings.

“I think everyone knows how good of a blocker Jauan was, or is, and how big he’s been for us in that way,” said 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan while discussing Stribling. “So we have a hole without that, and this guy definitely could fill that…I really fell in love with him as a route runner, how fast he is, how big, how good his hands are, how physical he played.”

The Athletic described the 49ers’ selection of Stribling early in the second round as a “reach”.

“The 49ers opened Day 2 with a surprising pick, taking Stribling even though there were much higher-rated consensus board receivers available, including (Denzel) Boston,” wrote The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf. “Stribling was the 13th wide receiver on the consensus board, but the 49ers made him the sixth player taken at his position.”

San Francisco likes Jennings, but they clearly don’t believe he’s a premier player in the NFL — simply because he lacks some of the attributes of other top receivers in the league.

Jennings, though, is a winning player who earned the respect of his superstar teammates with the way he plays the game with relentless effort. The former Vol may not be a burner, and he won’t put up crazy stats, but he’s undoubtedly one of one.

“Anyone that watches tape, they look at Jauan’s tape and go ‘holy cow, this guy is one of one,’” said 49ers tight end George Kittle in 2024. “His mindset and his attitude when he’s on a football field is completely different. He goes to that dark place that Coach (Kyle) Shanahan talks about…he is just very violent in the way that he plays the game. Which you don’t see in all receivers.

“He will hit defensive ends as hard as he can. He will hit linebackers as hard as he can. He’s not scared of anything. And if you need him to win a one-on-one rep, he’s going to win that one-on-one rep. Incredibly strong hands. For a guy that does it all, he runs the routes, he does the run game, he shows up every day loving the game with a great attitude. And then you get to game day and he makes all those plays. That’s someone that you want to be in your building.”

No disrespect to Stribling, he may end up being a terrific player in the NFL, but the 49ers know what they had in Jennings, and yet they still don’t value him the way they should.

This is another example of an NFL team getting caught up in measurables and metrics instead of intangibles.

Measurables and metrics are important. But when the game is on the line, do you want the player who runs the fastest, or do you want the player who’s willing to die on the field to make the play?

I know what my answer is. And now we know what the 49ers’ answer is, too.