Is Jauan Jennings the WR1 for the 49ers now? With lingering injuries to Ricky Pearsall and Brandon Aiyuk, John breaks down Jauan Jennings' fantasy football outlook heading into Week 10 of 2025.
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings caught four of his five targets for 41 yards and a touchdown in his team's Week 9 win over the New York Giants. It was the third week in a row that Jennings led all receivers on his team in receiving yards.
The 9ers have been devastated by injuries on both sides of the ball this season. Currently, two of their top wideout options, Brandon Aiyuk (knee) and Ricky Pearsall (knee), have missed a ton of time due to knee injuries.
Jennings has clearly been the favorite target among the team's WRs for the past few games, but does that mean he's fully taken over his team's WR1 job for the future? Let's dive in.
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Is Jauan Jennings The WR1 For The 49ers?
For now, yes. He's had 17 targets in the past three contests, which easily leads 49ers WRs. The problem is that Pearsall could return any week now, and Aiyuk is still working his way back from injury. When Pearsall returns, he could easily take over the WR1 job.
While Jennings is a solid route-runner and all-around well-polished receiver, he lacks the athleticism to be consistently competitive as a deep target and a major yards-after-catch threat. He's also dealing with a number of injuries -- five broken ribs, low and high-ankle sprains, and a damaged shoulder.
Mac Jones to Jauan Jennings!
SFvsNYG on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/jwZa4OBF9Z
— NFL (@NFL) November 2, 2025
On film, it really doesn't look like he's the same player he was last season. That makes sense for a WR who's already not that fast -- he ran a 4.72-second 40-yard dash in the pre-draft process -- as he's dealing with a ton of extremely painful and limiting injuries.
However, playing time is included in his contract incentives, so it makes sense that he's taking the field. It just majorly caps his fantasy upside.
Jauan Jennings Fantasy Football Outlook
Jennings, for now, is a decent flex option in deeper leagues. But his season-long prognosis really isn't great. He'll likely be dealing with the lingering effects of both his shoulder injury and his ribs injury. Broken ribs don't just go away quickly -- they can take six to twelve weeks to heal.
And there's plenty of potential for him to re-aggravate any of the injuries he's gotten. The ankle injuries will continue to affect his ability to make sharp cuts needed to separate from coverage, and every hit he takes is likely very painful for his rib fractures.
Here’s all 11 of Jauan Jennings catches from yesterday
I still can’t believe they found a way to lose this game… pic.twitter.com/xXT7VvwGBC
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) September 23, 2024
We are a long time away from Jennings' massive 46.5 PPR fantasy point game against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3 of 2024. This year, Jennings hasn't been used quite as much. The team would probably like to have Pearsall settle into the WR1 role until Aiyuk returns.
Even then, Jennings' upside is hampered by backup quarterback Mac Jones, who's starting in place of the injured Brock Purdy (toe). Jones has made RB Christian McCaffrey the top receiving option for San Francisco, and CMC is having an incredible season for fantasy football.
Jennings has mostly been left to pick up the rest on a low passing volume offense. Purdy's return will help his ceiling, but Pearsall's return won't. He's a low-upside flex player for now, and I'm not trying to trade for him, not that he's a hot trade target anyway.
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