Wesley Grimes has a real shot to make noise in Santa Clara, and the reasons are easy to see. The former NC State wideout landed with the San Francisco 49ers as part of their 2026 undrafted free agent class, and his profile checks a lot of boxes for a team that knows exactly what it wants from the position.
At 6-foot-2 and 193 pounds, Grimes looks the part of a modern boundary receiver. He also backed that frame with testing numbers that stand out: a 35-inch vertical leap and a 4.35-second 40-yard dash at NC State’s Pro Day. That kind of burst shows up on film, too, where his acceleration turns into real vertical stress for defenses.
The financial side of the deal suggests the 49ers are taking him seriously. Grimes signed a three-year, $3.11 million contract on May 8, and the agreement includes $200,000 fully guaranteed.
That guarantee ranks 98th among the 382 undrafted free agents who received financial guarantees this spring, which puts him in a more meaningful category than a typical camp flyer. If the 49ers cut him, they’d be on the hook for that dead money; if they keep him, they save $688,333 against the cap.
Grimes also fits the kind of receiver Kyle Shanahan can work with. At NC State, he posted a 12.9-yard average depth of target and consistently produced more than 5.0 yards after the catch.
He had a 20-plus yard catch in six separate games, with much of his damage coming on in-breaking routes over the middle. At 22 years old, he gives the coaching staff a developmental piece with size, speed, and enough production traits to matter.
He may not be a star-level projection, but the raw tools are there, and the 49ers have given him more than a passing chance to stick.
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