The most consistent wide receiver in the playoffs was Jauan Jennings.

While Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk struggled to beat press-man coverage, Jennings didn’t. He caught 10 of 13 targets in the playoffs. He was efficient. As opposed to Aiyuk, who caught 9 of 20 targets, and Samuel, who caught 13 of 22.

And despite Jennings rising to the occasion on the biggest stages when the 49ers stars did not, the 49ers spent their first- and fourth-round picks on slot receivers. So it seems unlikely the 49ers will re-sign Jennings when he’s an unrestricted free agent in 2025.

Jennings caught just 19 passes in the regular season, but that’s mostly because he didn’t get many opportunities. He was fifth in the passing pecking order behind Aiyuk, Samuel, George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey. But in the playoffs, Samuel was banged up, and Jennings proved he could be a quality no, 2 wide receiver on a playoff team. And he will get paid accordingly next year.

Jennings won’t get $25 million per season, but he might get $10 million and that’s far too expensive for the 49ers who hardly use him. Which explains why they drafted both Ricky Pearsall and Jacob Cowing this year. The 49ers want to make sure they won’t miss Jennings if/when he leaves next year.

The 49ers were in a similar situation a few years ago with Kendrick Bourne. He was their no. 3 receiver who outgrew that role and eventually priced himself out of town. He signed with the Patriots, while the 49ers replaced him with Jennings. Now Jennings is the one who likely will get replaced.