Niners Nation
If the 49ers are to have success on offense against the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round, then it will likely come through Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle. That is no secret; everybody knows that duo — and McCaffrey in particular — is the engine of the San Francisco attack.
The problem the 49ers face is that, with McCaffrey and Kittle as the obvious focal points, the Eagles will try to take away, the lack of alternative weapons figures to put San Francisco in a significant bind if Philadelphia succeeds in minimizing the impact of that All-Pro pairing.
That was certainly the case in last week’s regular-season ending loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The paucity of alternative threats, combined with the pressure Brock Purdy consistently faced, left the 49er quarterback regularly having to work extremely hard for completions.
With wide receiver Ricky Pearsall out of the lineup as his injury-hindered season continued, the 49ers lacked players with the ability to stretch the field and create space in underneath areas for McCaffrey and Kittle.
Pearsall, as he showed in the 49ers’ Week 1 win over the Seahawks and has consistently demonstrated this season when healthy, can do substantial damage when attacking downfield. The same can be said of seemingly soon-to-be former 49er Brandon Aiyuk, whose absence could hardly have been more glaring as the passing game labored against Seattle.
In their absences, the 49ers did not have a player on the field who could truly be considered a deep threat. Demarcus Robinson has the speed to fit the bill and had a 22-yard touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 16, but he hasn’t proven himself a consistently reliable target this season and was underwhelming against the Seahawks.
So with Pearsall a doubt to face the Eagles, the 49ers could be forced to look to two unproven young playmakers if they want to get genuine deep threats on the field.
The 49ers are set to open Jacob Cowing’s practice window this week, potentially clearing him to make his first appearance of the season, having missed the entirety of the regular season with a hamstring injury.
Cowing enjoyed only limited action as a rookie, but displayed his 4.38 speed during his cameos last term, the highlight of his first year a 41-yard reception down the right sideline against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Rookie fourth-rounder Jordan Watkins has seen his first season in the NFL heavily disrupted by injury, a frustration given how much he impressed in training camp. Watkins ran a 4.37 40-yard dash in the pre-draft process and caught a 50-yard pass versus the Denver Broncos in preseason, but he has appeared in just two games since making an impressive 19-yard reception in the Week 9 win over the New York Giants.
Both Cowing and Watkins are unproven, but have the raw athletic ability and have shown enough route-running promise to serve as threats to stretch the field. In addition, their physical traits make both of them compelling options on designed...
