The 49ers made it all the way to the Super Bowl this season despite getting next to nothing from first-round pick A.J. Jenkins.
Jenkins played just three games during the regular season and caught no passes even though the 49ers lost wide receivers Mario Manningham and Kyle Williams to season-ending injuries. He was active for two of the team’s three games in the postseason, but didn’t pick up his first catch as a pro during the playoffs either. He wound up having just one pass thrown in his direction all year.
The lack of production obviously didn’t hinder the 49ers all that much, but it is something Jenkins would like to change next season. He plans to hit the weights in order to become stronger and will work out with quarterback Colin Kaepernick in hopes of as part of his quest to come back for the 2013 season as a “totally different player.”
“Obviously, I want to contribute a lot more than I have been,” said Jenkins, via Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. “So I’m going to make that happen and come back bigger, faster, stronger.”
Manningham and Williams are expected back, but Randy Moss and Ted Ginn could both be finished in San Francisco. That would open up a door for Jenkins to move up the depth chart if his offseason brings the improvement that Jenkins is expecting to see.