The San Francisco 49ers’ wide receiver room was a bit of a rollercoaster in 2025. Early on, rookie Ricky Pearsall looked like the breakout star - the guy who could stretch the field, move the chains, and be the go-to target in critical moments. But a PCL injury derailed that momentum, sidelining him for a significant portion of the season and limiting his effectiveness even after he returned.
That opened the door for someone else to step up. But for fellow rookie Jordan Watkins, that opportunity never really materialized - and not for lack of talent.
Watkins flashed in the preseason, including a highlight-reel catch that had fans wondering if the 49ers had found a mid-round gem. But then came the high ankle sprain in his first preseason game, and everything changed.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan shed some light on the situation, explaining why Watkins didn’t see much of the field despite the team’s need for speed and depth at wide receiver. According to Shanahan, the injury came at the worst possible time - right at the start of training camp, when young players are supposed to be building their foundation.
“Jordan got hurt in his first preseason game with a high ankle sprain,” Shanahan explained. “And he wasn’t ready yet - like 95 percent of guys coming into camp.
Training camp is where you figure it out, get your reps, and start closing the gap between potential and performance. But when you miss that whole window?
That’s tough.”
And it wasn’t just the injury itself. It was the ripple effect.
Conditioning takes a hit. Mental reps don’t replace live ones.
And when Watkins finally returned, he wasn’t just trying to get back to where he was - he was trying to catch up to teammates who’d been grinding all season.
“He had a setback, which made it worse,” Shanahan continued. “So now you’re in Week 12 or 13, and you’re behind guys who are more consistent, more reliable at this point in their careers.”
The reality is, in a season where the 49ers were fighting for playoff seeding and every game mattered, they couldn’t afford to roll the dice on a developmental player. That’s not a knock on Watkins - it’s just the nature of competing at the highest level. Experimenting with lineups is a luxury teams can’t afford when they’re chasing a postseason berth.
Watkins did manage to get on the field in Weeks 8, 9, and 10 - though his snaps were limited. He played just eight more snaps in Week 16, bringing his total to 25 offensive snaps for the season. Not exactly what you expect from a fourth-round pick, especially when players like Kendrick Bourne and Malik Turner - who weren’t even on the roster to start the season - were seeing action in key moments, including a two-minute drill in the Wild Card round.
In Week 12, Bourne and Skyy Moore were getting offensive snaps. A week later, only Bourne saw time outside of the primary trio of Pearsall, Jauan Jennings, and Demarcus Robinson. The fact that Moore, another mid-season addition, played ahead of Watkins raises some eyebrows.
Shanahan was candid about what it would’ve taken for Watkins to see more time: “If there were a couple more injuries at receiver, then Jordan would’ve been up. It wasn’t that he wasn’t capable - he just missed his window to pass some people.”
That’s a tough pill for any rookie to swallow. But Shanahan also framed it as a learning opportunity - the kind that could help Watkins in the long run.
“If they understand why it happens, and they use that from January to March to come into the offseason ready, that’s how you grow,” Shanahan said.
The message is clear: the NFL waits for no one. Injuries, setbacks, and missed chances can derail a season - or a career - if a player isn’t ready to respond. For Watkins, the challenge now is to take what he’s learned, get healthy, and attack the offseason like a pro.
There’s still potential there. The flashes we saw in the preseason weren’t a fluke.
But the next step - becoming a reliable contributor in a deep, competitive receiver room - starts with preparation. Watkins has the physical tools.
Now it’s about putting it all together.