San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh may say he has five No. 1 receivers, but only two of them are listed as starters on the 49ers’ depth chart: Randy Moss and Michael Crabtree.
The 49ers released their official depth chart today, and Moss and Crabtree are the top receivers. Crabtree was last year’s No. 1 receiver, so he was expected to be a starter again this year, and the fact that Moss is listed as the other starter bolsters the many reports out of San Francisco this year that Moss looks like he’s in shape and eager to prove that he still has something left.
Kyle Williams and Mario Manningham are listed as the second string receivers, while Ted Ginn and first-round draft pick A.J. Jenkins are third string. The fact that Jenkins is listed as third string means it’s a real possibility that he won’t even dress on game days, at least if all five of the other receivers on the roster are healthy. Although Harbaugh has publicly defended Jenkins this offseason, he can’t be happy about the possibility of a first-round pick who isn’t even good enough to be active on Sundays.
But Harbaugh has to be happy with Moss. After a year away from football that followed a year in which three teams gave up on him, Moss is a starter again.