The San Francisco 49ers are a young team no one expects to contend for a playoff spot in 2019, so there is no real pressure. However, it is important for the 49ers to at least show some improvement and take some concrete steps forward, showing that San Francisco can legitimately challenge the Los Angeles Rams for NFC West supremacy in the 2020s.
Obviously, the main story surrounding the Niners right now is the status of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who is coming off a torn ACL and is still aiming to complete his first full year as a starter in the NFL.
But Garoppolo is going to have a difficult time enjoying a productive year without any receivers.
That is the predicament in which San Francisco currently finds itself.
It's not that the 49ers don't have any talent at the wide receiver position, because they do. Dante Pettis, Jalen Hurd and Trent Taylor are all promising, and rookie Deebo Samuel may very end up being the best of the bunch. They also have a couple of veterans in Marquise Goodwin and Jordan Matthews, the latter of which has been eaten up by injuries.
The problem for San Francisco is that it does not have a clear No. 1 wideout. None of its receivers are all that proven, and the ones that are (Goodwin and Matthews) aren't all that good to begin with.
Out of the Niners' young wideouts, Pettis is the most proven, and that's not saying much, as he caught just 27 passes for 467 yards and five touchdowns during his rookie year in 2018. Hurd hasn't even caught a pass yet. Taylor battled injuries all this past season. Samuel? He hasn't even gotten a taste of the NFL yet.
So, basically, the 49ers have no idea what their passing game is going to look like in 2019, and that is something they need to get settled.
Of course, it's probably something they will have to work on during training camp, but they should also have a general idea of who they think will be their top receivers going into next season.
On the positive side, all of those kids look good on paper. San Francisco could very well have a group of budding stars on its hands, but we really won't know that until we see these youngsters in action.
But there is something to be said for knowing what to expect, and the Niners don't have that luxury. Not like the New York Jets, for example, another young team with a young quarterback that has a firm grasp on how good its receivers are. Even the Arizona Cardinals generally seem to understand that Christian Kirk is the future.
For the 49ers, there are many questions; any of their wideouts could end up being their go-to guy in 2019 and beyond.
Again, this isn't so San Francisco can win this year. Chances are the Niners are going to end up winning seven games or fewer. The idea is to build some rapport and a culture, and the 49ers have a long way to go before they can achieve that.
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