No. 2: Wide Receiver Trent Taylor
The 49ers receiving corps is pretty stacked entering 2018. Aside from veteran wideout Pierre Garçon, however, it lacks the big-name guys most NFL fans would know on game day.
That’s OK, however. Head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense isn’t predicated on the big name. It’s about route running and getting players open.
This is where second-year pro Trent Taylor comes in.
Taylor, who led all of college football with 1,803 receiving yards in 2016, was yet another one of John Lynch’s late-round picks to flourish last season. Operating out of the slot, the 5-foot-8 wide receiver managed 43 receptions for 430 yards and two touchdowns.
That doesn’t tell the whole story, however.
Taylor emerged as a third-down weapon for San Francisco’s offense late in the season. His 19 third-down receptions for a first down ranked ninth among all NFL pass catchers last season and was tied for most among all rookies, along with the Los Angeles Rams’ Cooper Kupp.
Even better, Pro Football Focus cited Taylor as a bona fide weapon on slant routes in 2017:
Trent Taylor was 💰 on slant routes! pic.twitter.com/rpFnprOnvn
— PFF (@PFF) February 20, 2018
And if his preseason touchdown against the Houston Texans is any indication, Taylor will pick up where he left off in 2018.
Next Page: No. 1
