The San Francisco 49ers will likely have a whole different look in the passing game this week, as they’re expected to be without star wide receiver Mike Evans, general manager John Lynch said on the radio.
San Francisco’s wide receiver core was already banged up heading into the game, and now, the team will rely on Brandin Cooks, Christian Kirk, Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowing, Malik Turner, and potentially a wide receiver from the practice squad.
With Evans out for the second half this past week, the 49ers had a big shift in their wide receiver snaps. Jordan Watkins, who got the start over Cooks and Cowing, played 47 snaps, leading all wideouts. Cooks was behind him at 32 snaps, while Cowing got just 15.
The week prior, it was Cowing who lapped both Cooks and Watkins in snaps.
Now, despite the 47 snaps, Watkins saw just one target, making the catch for 22 yards. With Evans now out, that figure will potentially have to rise, as the 49ers need to throw the ball somewhere. Do they anticipate giving their second-year wideout a bigger role?
“[The lack of targets and opportunities], it’s nothing to do with him,” offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said of Watkins. “He’s doing a heck of a job, and Jordan’s playing the right way down in and down out. We’ve been really happy with him. Sometimes it’s just circumstances and where the ball goes. There were things in the game we were trying to get to him and the ball ended up going the other way, so it’s not really amount of targets.
“He’s doing everything right and the ball is going to find him because he’s playing the right way. Jordan’s just got to keep going and the ball’s going to go where it goes, just like every down. The way Jordan’s approaching every play and playing the right way and doing his assignment the right way, fortunate things are going to keep happening for him, so just keep him going.”
Watkins had struggled to stay healthy as a rookie, playing in only four games, but he also wasn’t involved much, catching just three passes for 26 yards. Now, it seems like he’ll be stepping into a bigger role as another receiver, Jacob Cowing, is trending downwards.
Is the coaching staff seeing what they want from Watkins from a route-running and separation perspective?
“100%. He’s doing a great job. He’s practicing really well too,” Kubiak added. “He’s gotten better as a player. That’s what we’ve asked him to do is keep working, keep pushing himself. He’s grown a lot as he stepped up more and been more involved in our offense and I expect that to continue to happen. Jordan’s doing everything right and, like I said, when guys approach things that way, good things tend to happen so we’re just going to keep going with him.”
If things hold similarly to last week, it looks like Watkins should be in line for his second start, and could lead the wide receivers in snaps again. Brock Purdy is going to need this group to make plays, so it’ll be up to Watkins and the other wideouts to get open.
But after a week with just one target, it feels like more are coming Watkins’s way in Week 7.