ESPN Names THIS Player Biggest San Francisco 49ers SURPRISE Before Training Camp

ESPN Names THIS Player Biggest San Francisco 49ers SURPRISE Before Training Camp

Happy 4th of July everybody. Welcome into the show. This is the San Francisco 49ers report. My name is Chase Senior. Hope you’re all having a great day. And with that, you’re getting ready to have an awesome weekend. Coming up here on the show, ESPN put together a list looking at all 32 teams in the National Football League, listing the biggest surprise players on each team. And for the 49ers, a player who we’ve talked about a couple of times here on the show, fourth round pick out of Miss, wide receiver Jordan Watkins. There’s been a lot of buzz behind this rookie heading into training camp and I’m really eager to see what he’s capable of doing in his first year in the NFL and if he’s going to be able to have an impact for this Niners offense in 2025. a unit that despite being the second most injured offense in the NFL last year and with Brock Purie and Kyle Shanahan struggling at times was still the fourth best overall total offense in the NFL. Nick Wagner covers the NerS for ESPN. Here was his write up with what he had to say on Watkins. And I like how ESPN did this because they have beat writers for all 32 teams across the NFL. And these beat writers understand the pulse and they know what’s going on with these teams. And Wagner had an opportunity to watch Watkins very close throughout the spring. Rookie mini camp, OTAAS’s mandatory mini camp. This is a player who Brock Perie said was balling from day one. So here’s what Wagner said. The fourth round pick out of Mississippi had no shortage of opportunities to work with starting quarterback Brock Perie because fellow wide outs Brandon Aayuk, Joan Jennings, and Ricky Pieraw missed time with injuries. It’s difficult to get on the field and produce in Kyle Shanahan’s offense as a rookie receiver, but Watkins looked smooth running the intermediate routes that are a staple of Shanahan’s scheme. He consistently made plays in practice. That quote from Perie, Jordan Watkins has been balling from day one. Really, he’s come in and he’s done everything pretty right and he’s been on point. He’s had a lot of explosive plays downfield. Definitely a rookie that has popped out in front of everybody. That’s high praise from the Niners quarterback and Brock Perie. And while Kyle Shanahan said I don’t want to give him too much praise yet, he’s done some good things. I think you look at Shanahan’s actions, right? Shanahan’s actions are pretty telling that Watkins has had opportunities. He’s run with the ones and he’s impress impressed the coaching staff because of how they’ve utilized him. And a shout out to Jordan Watkins, too, right? I’ve always said this, it’s pretty hard to play a college football season, which now has more games than it ever has because of the expanded college football playoff. But you’re doing college training camp around this time. The regular season starts in late August. It now runs into December. If you’re playing in the college football playoff, you’re playing until January. If you’re playing marquee bowl games, those are happening in December or January. Miss didn’t make the college football playoff. They were on the cusp of doing that. But the point here is you play deep into the college football year. Let’s call it December, right? Immediately you have to get ready for the NFL draft. And a lot of times you’re either going to the East West Shrine Bowl, the Reese’s Senior Bowl. That name is now changed. It’ll still be the Senior Bowl, but a different sponsor. And then from that, you’re going right into the NFL combine at the end of February, early March. Then you get ready for the draft at the end of April. But before that, you’re taking visits and doing workouts with some teams across the league. You get drafted at the end of April. Right away, you have rookie mini camp, right into OTAAS, right into training camp. Then the regular season comes around. There is not a break. And so for Watkins to come in immediately, seize the moment, take advantage of the opportunities with AU, Jennings, and Piol out, and to play well, that’s impressive. This guy has a pretty impressive makeup here. And what stands out to me about Jordan Watkins, the 4-3 speed that he has, the explosiveness to his game, he was the only FBS wide receiver with five catches of 60 plus yards last year. He had a touchdown on average every 5.4 catches for Miss. Once Trey Harris, their number one, went out. Jordan Watkins became the number one guy for Jackson Dar and Lane Kein. He works over the middle very well. He did that at Miss. He did it in the spring with the 49ers. Jordan Watkins is also a sure-handed receiver who can be trusted. He was in college for five years. Louisville, Miss Six drops in five years in 60 games and 42 starts. So reliable there. He can contribute on special teams. Not only does he have that 4-3 speed, he tracks the ball well. He has a strong lower body to pick up yards after the catch. He’s pretty shifty and even though he’s under six feet, contact does not bother him. And I’ve also talked about this going into 2025, we could see this offense look a little bit different. What I mean by that, this offense looking faster. Ricky Pearl will be more of a focal point of the passing game. He’s a 4-4 guy and he has that short area wiggle and quickness. Jordan Watkins is a 4-3 guy. Isaac Gendo is a 4-3 guy. Jacob Cowing is a 4-4 guy. He really played and performed well in the spring. He’d probably be number two on this list behind Jordan Watkins. So, this Niners offense could be more explosive and be faster in 2025 than what we’ve seen in previous years. And to me, that’s a welcome sight. As for other players in the NFC West, who were the biggest surprises on their respective teams throughout the spring, because if you’re a football nerd like me, you’re interested in what the other teams are doing inside the NFC West because the Niners will play these teams twice next year and every year. For, let’s see, who is this for? For the Arizona Cardinals, inside linebacker Cody Simon. And this was written up by Josh Weinfus. The 2025 fourth round pick has made a quick impression on coach Jonathan Ganon in a short amount of time. He’s taken on the responsibility of wearing the green dot, which has added to the steep learning curve that comes with the player’s first year in the NFL. But Ganon has praised Simon’s ability to learn quickly from his mistakes from Ganon. He’s definitely flashed here. We got him playing a couple of different spots, so that’s good. He’s playing on fourth down right now, so he’s learning all that. He’s eager to learn. He doesn’t make mistakes twice and he’s got juice. He’s physical just like all those guys. Long way to go, but I like where he’s at. I mean, for a fourth round pick to be wearing the green dot, that’s what Fred Warner wears. That’s high praise. For the Rams, outside linebacker Byron Young. The 2023 third round pick has had two strong seasons, amassing 15 and a half sacks in his NFL career. Despite that success, outside linebackers coach Joe Keniglio said he has noticed how intentional Young has been going into this third year. Kiglio said he challenged Young to continue to work on his consistency because when he’s at his best, that’s a lot of fun to watch. I think he’s going to take another step forward in terms of his game, his ability to affect games, his ability to disrupt offenses and be the player that he’s capable of being. That’s what Kiglio said that write up from Sarah Barshop. And then for the Seahawks guard Anthony Bradford, when the Seahawks hired offensive coordinator Clint Kubak, brother of Clay, who’s the Niners OC, and Clint used to work under Kyle Shanahan as well. A popular reaction was that Bradford may have a hard time winning back the starting job at right guard. After all, he’s a big powerful blocker who doesn’t seem like an ideal fit for an outside zone scheme that suits more athletic linemen. It’s time to press pause on that notion. After a trimmer looking Bradford shared first team reps with Christian Haynes during OTAAS and mini camp, AB’s done a great job this spring. Mike McDonald said the head coach there, his body comp has really improved, which speaks to his work ethic. I think he’s made strides. It’s time to go prove it consistently. He knows that, but he’s right in the thick of it with the battle at right guard that coming from Brady Henderson. So, a surprise player for the Niners. And then as you keep tabs on other teams inside the NFC West, I think this could be a hyper competitive division. Remember those names as well heading into the 2025 season. Enjoy your weekends. Thanks for watching the show. You already know that the content is going to continue to stay pumping here on the 49ers Report. So, don’t forget to hit that subscribe button and I’ll catch you later. See you.

ESPN: 2025 NFL offseason: Biggest surprise players on each team. For the San Francisco 49ers: WR Jordan Watkins

“The fourth-round pick out of Mississippi had no shortage of opportunities to work with starting quarterback Brock Purdy because fellow wideouts Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall missed time with injuries. It’s difficult to get on the field and produce in Kyle Shanahan’s offense as a rookie receiver, but Watkins looked smooth running the intermediate routes that are a staple of Shanahan’s scheme. He consistently made plays in practice.

“Jordan Watkins has been balling from day one really,” Purdy said. “He’s come in and he’s done everything pretty right and he’s been on point. He’s had a lot of explosive plays down the field … definitely a rookie that has popped out in front of everybody.” — Nick Wagoner

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​​What stands out about Jordan Watkins highlights:
4.3 speed
Only FBS WR with 5 catches of 60+ yards
Had a TD every 5.4 catches
Works over the middle very well
Sure-handed throughout college. 6 drops in 5 years, 60 games and 42 starts
Strong lower body
Tracks the ball well
Contact doesn’t bother him

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