San Francisco 49ers: How will offense work without No. 1 receiver?

The San Francisco 49ers are heading into next season without a real No. 1 wide receiver. How much will this affect Kyle Shanahan’s offense?

Having a leading receiver is a valuable commodity to have in the NFL. No one understands this better than San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.

As an offensive coordinator, his best seasons were credited to the likes of All-Pro pass catchers. From his early years in Houston with Andre Johnson to his last year of offensive play-calling for the Falcons with Julio Jones, Shanahan knows how to utilize a top-tier talent at wideout.

Unfortunately, there isn’t one on the 49ers. In an offseason where Jarvis Landry, Allen Robinson and Sammy Watkins were available to be signed, the team didn’t go after any of them. They didn’t even bother to sign free agent Dez Bryant, who’s made it clear that he wants to play in San Francisco.

It’s clear that the head coach has a plan, but his offense is best when a real No. 1 guy is out wide for his starting quarterback. But let’s take a look at some of these names at receiver.

The Receivers

Starting off is presumed No. 1 receiver, Pierre Garçon. He’s a Shanahan disciple from their time together in Washington. He’s the team’s reliable possession guy and he had a strong 2017 campaign until it was cut short by a neck injury midway through the season. His age is something to look at as something ending his time to be “the guy,” but he can take on a mentoring role.

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Marquise Goodwin is the unquestioned deep threat. The former Olympian and track star is someone that can stretch the field at any given moment. He had his best season last year and almost eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark. However, he’s still not a complete player at his position and had difficulties early in the season.

In at the slot is 5-8 Trent Taylor. He’s essentially the Wes Welker-type receiver for this offense. The Louisiana Tech product takes a lot of pride in his route running and creating space from defenders. He’s also an excellent option for a punt returner.

Dante Pettis is an athletic deep threat that’s also a return specialist. However, he isn’t physical and he doesn’t have the strength to get off of defenders.

Aldrick Robinson, much like Garçon, is a Shanahan disciple from their time in Washington and Atlanta. His time might be up though, as he looks to only be a product of Shanahan’s system.

Richie James is his school’s all-time leader in every receiving statistic and can be used in any way to get the ball in his hands. But he doesn’t have the size of an NFL receiver, nor the catch radius or frame. And Kendrick Bourne is a developmental project that looks to be making results. However, he’s still raw and needs to show more once the season comes.

Each one of these guys brings something different to the offense. But none of them will keep defensive coordinators up at night with what they have. Instead, it’s on Shanahan to come up with what’s best to expose weaknesses in coverage with these pieces.

How Shanahan is making up for the lack of a No. 1 guy

The offensive guru has created an offense entirely in his image. He isn’t someone that goes out of his way to get a big name guy and give away all of his riches for him. Instead, he gets a number of guys that are assigned a specific role as a receiver.

Andrew Hawkins spoke on this when he appeared on the 49ers Studios Podcast (via Niners Nation).

"He needs a speed guy. He needs a guy who is faster than everybody else on the field. That’s a big part of his offense. He needs a tough guy. He needs a guy who is going to catch the ball over the middle, be tough as nails and be a little versatile. He needs a third down guy, who has great hands and will, under any circumstance, can move the sticks."

Shanahan went further into this philosophy when discussing how he looks at receivers during the NFL Combine (via Niners Nation).

"There aren’t many (elite guys). If there’s a Julio (Jones) available and you have the opportunity to get him, you go get him. It’s worth it. Whatever the price is, whatever the draft pick is, go get him. There aren’t too many Julio’s on this planet. But you don’t have to have that to be successful.Where people make mistakes is when they say, ‘We need a big tall red zone target like Julio,’ and then you go pay everyone else in the world who I can promise you isn’t Julio. Now you can’t go get a tight end. You can’t go get a guard. Yeah, you’ve got that big guy, but it’s got to be the right guy. … You don’t go, ‘Hey we need a big guy.’ No, we need good receivers. They come in all shapes and sizes."

Next: San Francisco 49ers: 5 Players fighting for their futures in 2018

What Shanahan has for the 49ers is something that is not only effective but that he’s been implementing for years. HIs philosophy has worked before and it should continue to work without a “No. 1 guy.”