Who PFF selected as 49ers’ ‘secret superstar’ in 2024 season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
There were few bright spots during the 49ers’ lackluster 2024 NFL season, but several players put together standout campaigns despite the circumstances.
Veteran wide receiver Jauan Jennings was one of those high performers, falling just short of his first 1,000-yard season in an effort that earned him recognition from Pro Football Focus in two separate end-of-season categories — “secret superstar” and most improved (h/t 49ers Webzone).
“As the 49ers endured another injury ravaged season, Jennings was a consistently good force at wide receiver,” PFF contributor Bradley Locker wrote. “His 83.7 PFF receiving grade ranked 17th among receivers with 50 or more targets, while he was also 14th in yards per route run (2.26). Jennings proved his mettle as a blocker, too, with his 74.8 PFF pass-blocking grade the eighth-best mark among receivers.
“Given that San Francisco may shuffle the deck by trading a player like Deebo Samuel, Jennings will continue to be a focal point in 2025.”
While 49ers president of football operations/general manager John Lynch assured reporters Samuel would be back in 2025 during his end-of-season press conference, Jennings is sure to remain a huge piece of San Francisco’s passing game next season.
Jennings finished the 2024 season with 77 catches for 975 yards and six touchdowns after injuries to fellow pass-catchers Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey. Jennings likely would have reached the 1,000-yard milestone if he wasn’t ejected from the 49ers’ season finale against the Arizona Cardinals — a byproduct of his enthusiastic blocking efforts that often land him in scuffles.
His overall numbers were quite the boost from his 265 and 416 receiving yards in 2023 and 2022, respectively, and Jennings also only had one touchdown in each of those seasons. PFF’s Thomas Valentine chose Jennings as San Francisco’s most improved player, which might even be an understatement after the best season of the wideout’s NFL career.
“Jennings was known more for his blocking abilities up until this season, but he was Brock Purdy’s most favorable target, earning 113 targets in 15 games, while his 83.1 grade was 13th among all receivers in the NFL,” Valentine wrote.
“He also became one of the best receivers at winning contested catches, as only Terry McLaurin and Drake London had more contested catches than Jennings 20 in the regular season.”
The 49ers fell way short of their Super Bowl aspirations in 2024, and now they’ll get a brief respite before jumping back on the field this spring to do it all over again. While a repeat of the ’24 season would be bad at the team level, San Francisco certainly hopes Jennings does something similar — though it’s not so secret anymore.
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