BrandinCooks

Oct 12

Three of their five wide receivers left the game at some point with injuries.

San Francisco has Ricky Pearsall, De'Zhaun Stribling, Demarcus Robinson and Christian Kirk on injured reserve. KhaDarel Hodge ranked fifth among the team's wide receivers in snaps this season, but he was recently released after suffering an injury. Mike Evans is their top receiver, but he was either limited in practice or unable to practice throughout the week due to a rib injury. That left the team with Deebo Samuel Sr. , Jacob Cowing, Jordan Watkins and recently signed Brandin Cooks as their healthy receivers. Evans played 84% of 11 personnel snaps in this game but was in a rotational role in 12 personnel. He briefly left the game with what looked like a neck injury late in the first half, but returned before halftime and finished the game. In the first half, Samuel and Cowing joined him in 11 personnel, while Watkins and Samuel were the primary receivers in 12 personnel. Samuel suffered a hamstring injury in the third quarter and wasn't able to return, while Cowing suffered a knee injury but was able to return. In the fourth quarter, Cooks led the 49ers' wide receiver room in snaps, playing 14 of 19, including running a route on 10 of 11 passing plays. He also scored a touchdown. While Evans dominated the box score with seven receptions for 113 yards and a touchdown, it's still worth adding Cooks off the waiver wire. Given Evans' injuries, he could miss time sooner rather than later, which could make Cooks the top wide receiver on the depth chart, at least until some of these receivers are able to return.

Oct 5

Similar to last season, the 49ers’ wide receiver room has been constantly changing because of injuries. Ricky Pearsall, De’Zhaun Stribling, Demarcus Robinson and Christian Kirk are all on injured reserve. Mike Evans is their top receiver, but he missed practice Wednesday and Thursday with a rib injury before returning on a limited basis Friday. He was listed as questionable but ultimately active. Deebo Samuel Sr. has been their healthiest wide receiver this season, while Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins have been forced to move up the depth chart. KhaDarel Hodge was another receiver who recently moved up the depth chart, but he also suffered an injury and was subsequently released. San Francisco signed Brandin Cooks off its practice squad to replace Hodge. The 49ers also added Malik Turner to the practice squad Tuesday and elevated him for this game. Turner spent 2022, 2024 and 2025 on San Francisco’s practice squad, appearing in six games without recording a catch. His last NFL reception came in 2021. Evans played only 59.1% of the offensive snaps but posted a 73.5% route participation rate and was targeted on 32% of his routes. Watkins served as the backup X receiver and played the majority of the snaps in single-wide-receiver sets. Cowing was the third receiver in three-receiver sets, playing 100% of those snaps. Cooks was eased into action, while Turner didn’t play on offense. None of the receivers outside of Evans and Samuel are likely to have fantasy value unless one of the two misses time. Even if Evans does miss a game, however, Cooks could overtake Watkins as the backup X receiver sooner rather than later.