SANTA CLARA \u2014 Being a rookie wide receiver in the 49ers’ offense is a tall task, and while there are a few who have stood out, coach Kyle Shanahan knows there is a significant amount of work yet to be done.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re spinning right now,\u201d Shanahan said on Sunday after the 49ers completed their fourth practice of training camp. \u201cOnce you think you\u2019ve got it, it gets a lot worse the next day.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Brandon Aiyuk\u2019s timeline to return uncertain, Demarcus Robinson facing up to a three-game suspension and Jauan Jennings leaving practice early due to a calf injury, there will be opportunities for younger players to see the field. How well they perform in the next few weeks will show who has been doing their homework.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cToday was our first call-it period, which means it wasn\u2019t scripted, so they have no idea what\u2019s coming,\u201d Shanahan explained. \u201cI think that showed a little bit of rust. I think they\u2019re in their playbooks, but they definitely can\u2019t be content with it. They\u2019ve got to get into more, they\u2019ve got to get more of these reps, and we\u2019ve got to keep challenging them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shanahan also does not put too much value in the reps players have until the pads go on, on Monday. Isaiah Neyor had the most eye-popping catch<\/a> of camp thus far \u2014 a 50-yard bomb from Mac Jones, but Shanahan will reserve judgment for a while.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he\u2019s done a good job,\u201d Shanahan said of the rookie. \u201cI mean, all those guys are getting a lot of reps, and we\u2019ve got a lot of young guys getting opportunities. He got a lot of opportunities in OTAs. We\u2019ve been moving him around. He made a big play a couple days ago, and he\u2019s just competing like the rest of the group out there right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Ricky Pearsall also should be heavily featured in the rotation, having returned to practice<\/a> after suffering a hamstring injury during the offseason. On Sunday, the second-year receiver was on the field for eight offensive reps,\u00a0targeted four times for three completions. His draft classmate Jacob Cowing, who was having a standout offseason, has been sidelined with a hamstring injury<\/a> and is expected to return for joint practices with the Las Vegas Raiders during the week of Aug. 16.<\/p>\n