Shanahan reveals why Jennings fell to the 49ers in the seventh round originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Drafting football players is an inexact science, but perhaps no team has benefited more from the missteps of other NFL teams than the 49ers.
John Jennings is among the star players on San Francisco’s roster who were selected after slipping to the middle or end of the NFL draft.
During an interview with Greg Papa on NBC Sport’s Bay Area’s “49ers Game Plan,” Kyle Shanahan offered a detailed look at the pre-draft process that allowed San Francisco to select Jennings in the seventh round.
“Jauan, luckily he went down and so did Brock (Purdy). You go back and you watch their college tape and it’s the most obvious thing in the world, you’re like, ‘How did this guy- could he have fallen?’ The NFL overthinks some things,” Shanahan told Papa. “I remember the first time I saw Jauan, it wasn’t the tape. They put all the numbers from the combine, the measurables and all that – he didn’t test well at the combine. Now that I know about Jauan, because Jauan had a bad vertical at the combine, but go watch him on YouTube, he can do a 360 dunk, so that doesn’t make much sense.
“He (Jennings) had a bad (40-yard shot), but he can run. Look at his post from last week. You see all his numbers up there, now that I know Jauan, I think Jauan is the most confident guy in He probably didn’t think he needed to do much at the combine, he just didn’t take it as seriously as he should have But when you see these things. , guys fall into it where there was a lot going on at that school at that time guys were transferring, I think coaches were changing, guys were getting kicked out and all that.
“So I was like, ‘Obviously this guy is late in the draft. And then we put his tape up, and his tape looked like a first or second round player. I think he was the all-time leading receiver in Tennessee history, so it didn’t totally add up. But when you see those numbers at the combine and all that, and you hear some things that are question marks, so you have an idea of where he’s going to go we put him in the fifth or sixth round.
Jennings continued to slide as the 2020 NFL Draft has almost reached its conclusion, with the San Francisco masterminds eagerly awaiting their chance to take the wide receiver with their final pick at No. 217 overall.
“Now you compare those positions to other positions. And then you get to the seventh round and he’s still there, and you’re shocked,” Shanahan explained. “But we’re just praying that we can have it.” And then he’s there for our seventh-round pick. We were so excited to have him and I remember meeting with him on Zoom the whole offseason because it was during Covid. I knew how excited I was because I knew what a good playmaker he was.”
Shanahan was confident in the 49ers’ selection of Jennings, expressing excitement to everyone who asked him what he thought of San Francisco’s 2020 draft class. The 49ers coach explained that although Jennings faced a lot of adversity early in his NFL jersey, the receiver’s hard work ethic never wavered before he finally seized the opportunity to become a staple of San Francisco’s offense.
“I remember saying to the people who always called me after the draft (and said), ‘Who should we watch? Who do you like?’ I’m like, “Just watch Jauan Jennings’ college highlight tape and see what type of player this guy is. He came to training camp, wasn’t quite ready for camp at.” the aftermath of COVID and all that, and ended up going on the practice squad and then got injured About a week before he got hurt, we were going to bring him up to help us play, like. to be one of our three best players.
And then he had a bit of bad luck, but he held on the whole time, he’s been playing like that for us for several years, but now he’s getting the attention he deserves because his numbers are so good. But he always played at that level.”
Now in his fifth season, Jennings is one of the most productive wide receivers in the NFL through four games, currently ranking fifth in receiving yards (364) and tied for fourth with three touchdowns.
While his impact on the 49ers It’s no surprise to anyone who watches the team regularly, Jennings’ stellar performance made him a household name to the rest of the football world, seeing the greatness Shanahan saw on his college tape.
