The 49ers have reshuffled their receiving corps this offseason.
Torrey Smith and Jerome Simpson have come onboard while Michael Crabtree, Stevie Johnson and Brandon Lloyd have moved along (Lloyd is unsigned, but there’s no indication the 49ers are interested in another year) after catching 117 passes for the team last season. With Simpson a flier after missing all of last season and the non-Anquan Boldin returnees accounting for little production, there’s been speculation that the 49ers will be bolstering the position this week at the draft.
General Manager Trent Baalke is predictably evasive about the possibility, choosing to point out that you can only play so many wideouts. Baalke also pointed to Simpson’s pre-2014 production and said that the team wants to give young players Bruce Ellington and Quinton Patton more of an opportunity while explaining why he doesn’t feel like picking a wideout is a must.
“Now, is that to say we’re not going to make a pick, look for another wide receiver?” Baalke said, via ESPN.com. “I’m not saying that at all. But [I] don’t feel like we have to be pressured into making a decision like that.”
The 49ers have drafted at least one widout in every draft since 2003, so it’s a good bet that one of their nine picks will go in that direction. If they do opt for one in the first round, they’ll hope to do better than they did when they opened their 2012 draft by taking A.J. Jenkins.