40ers rookie receivers show flashes in exhibition opener
SANTA CLARA — Deebo Samuel and Jalen Hurd showed flashes in the exhibition opener of the ability that led the San Francisco 49ers to take the two receivers on the second day of this year’s NFL draft.
Samuel provided some big plays down the field and Hurd caught two touchdown passes as both rookies make their case for getting significant playing time when the regular season starts.
The Niners have only one receiver on the roster with more than 130 career catches in veteran Jordan Matthews, who isn’t assured a spot on the roster when the season starts.
So the opportunity is there to seize the chance but it will take more than a few highlights in the preseason to win over coach Kyle Shanahan.
“I want someone to take the job and make it to where it’s extremely obvious,” Shanahan said.
“We haven’t had that yet. We have a bunch of young guys who are extremely hungry, and they are going for it. We’ve got some other guys who have been here who have also been that way, but I think guys are very evenly matched right now and I want someone to step it up.
“The rookies, they made some good plays, but they also weren’t very consistent either. There’s lots of parts about their game that they have to clean up, and I thought it was very similar in the veterans, too.”
Hurd provided the biggest highlights, bowling over a defender at the goal line on a 20-yard touchdown catch in the first half and then leaping over one for a 4-yard TD in the second half. Hurd also hesitated on a pass in the second half, contributing to an interception by C.J. Beathard, inconsistency that could be expected from a player who began his college career as a running back before switching to receiver and becoming a third-round draft pick.
Hurd’s performance playing out of the slot was especially important because the projected top player at that position, Trent Taylor, had surgery to repair a broken bone in his foot Friday and could miss the start of the season.
Hurd, who is listed at 6-foot-4, 227 pounds, offers impressive size in the slot where smaller players usually thrive.