Despite A Late Break Out, Jauan Jennings Has More Room To Grow

Jauan Jennings had a career year in 2024 for the 49ers, and his ADP has jumped up to WR34. Will Jennings be able to live up to lofty expectations with a revamped 49ers offense?

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2024 Year in Review

A career year for Jennings came as Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, and Deebo Samuel dealt with varying degrees of injuries and struggles. However, Jennings was still able to shine as the WR1 for most of the season and finished with 77 catches for 975 yards and 6 touchdowns.

That said, Jennings played very well after he took over. His 2.5 yards per route run (per SIS) was tops among all receivers in San Francisco last year and tied for sixth in the NFL. It was an elite season on a per-route basis from Jennings. Combine that with a bottom-10 drop rate in the league, and we can see that this really was a great season from Jennings.

Not that you need more elite numbers, but he also had an elite broken tackle + missed tackle percentage (8th overall), combined with a solid aDOT, so we know that a lot of this wasn’t just screens. Jennings only had six targets on screens and jet sweeps. It would probably be nice to see a few more, though, and without Samuel on the roster, he may see a few more layup targets.

Can He Do It Again?

The big question for Jennings at his WR34 ADP is; can he do it again? With Samuel in Washington, and Aiyuk and Ricky Pearsall on PUP to start camp, the opportunity is there for Jennings.

Is it common for 27-year-olds to break out? Not really, but between his ascendence last year and the situation unfolding this summer, everything is there for Jennings to keep going and pay off the WR34 ADP.

The elite metrics in 2024 do paint a picture that, despite the late breakout, this could be sustainable. He only started 10 games and played in 15 games, so it wasn’t even a full season and full workload. A lot will come down to the continued improvement of Brock Purdy and the offensive line holding up, but the lack of competition if Aiyuk and Pearsall miss any time should help.

The Contract Dispute

Generally, with contract disputes, I’m not super worried. That goes for Jennings, who showed up for training camp and is not holding out. He requested a new contract or trade, which again was not a big deal. That said, GM John Lynch and HC Kyle Shanahan do have a history of shenanigans.

In the grand scheme of things, this should not impact Jennings’ season. He showed up to camp and greeted Lynch and Shanahan, and it sounds like water under the bridge.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said after the first session in training camp, via 49ersWebzone.com, “And Jauan’s been a hell of a player for us here for a while, one of our leaders, too. He had a good practice, and it was great to have him out there.

All this adds up to not a lot of concern over the situation. If he were to get traded, that could become a real problem depending on the destination. However, after initial concerns, it appears that things have smoothed over, and his ADP has settled down after some minimal movement following the request.

The Bottom Line

• After seeing Jennings’ ADP rise slightly after the trade request, he has settled in as WR34 at 62nd overall.

• While 27-year-olds rarely break out that late, Jennings put up career numbers and had elite underlying numbers.

• Jennings’ 2.5 YPRR was good for a tie for sixth place in the NFL last year, an elite mark that shows he can be a number one receiver in a top-tier offense.

• With Deebo Samuel gone and Brandon Aiyuk limited, the seas are parting for another 100+ target season for Jennings.

• At WR34, I would confidently draft Jennings with a ceiling much higher and a relatively safe floor.