Before the San Francisco 49ers’ Thursday Night Football clash against the Los Angeles Rams two weeks ago, it was widely pegged that 49ers wide receiver Kendrick Bourne might have the opportunity to enjoy a solid performance with Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings, Brock Purdy, and Brandon Aiyuk all sidelined. Not even the most optimistic San Francisco fan could’ve seen a 142-yard performance coming, and fewer still would’ve predicted him to put up another 142 yards in a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the following week in which Jennings also played. Just like Jennings parlayed a breakout performance against the Rams into bona fide WR1 status, so, too, can Bourne.
Kyle Shanahan’s offense can make the most out of any quarterback — former New England Patriots castoff Mac Jones leads the league in passing yards per game and has a higher passer rating than the newly-extended Brock Purdy — and that extends to making unheralded skill position players look like stars. It’s not like Bourne’s production completely came out of nowhere; he had an 800-yard season with New England in 2021, when his quarterback was none other than Jones. That season, two different Patriots receivers, Bourne and Jakobi Meyers, each had more than 800 receiving yards, so Jones likes to spread the ball around evenly. Purdy has only just returned to practice while dealing with turf toe, but it seems likely that Jones will start this weekend against the Atlanta Falcons.
He should have plenty of opportunities to establish himself as the 49ers’ true WR1. Aiyuk is still on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list as he continues to recover from the torn ACL that he suffered in Week 7 last season, and Jennings garnered just three targets on Sunday while battling through ankle and rib injuries. It’s also not guaranteed that Pearsall or tight end George Kittle will return for Sunday’s clash, which means that Bourne should remain San Francisco’s most reliable target at least for the next few weeks while the injured players slowly work their way back. Football is a fickle game; just because Pearsall was the team’s top target before his injury doesn’t mean he’ll automatically reclaim his status since Bourne has been so good.
After tough matchups in each of the next two weeks against the Falcons and the Houston Texans, who have allowed the fifth- and fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing wideouts this season, respectively, Bourne should especially be eying opportunities against the New York Giants in Week 9 and again against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 16, given that those two teams have had issues in the secondary, but that doesn’t mean he’s not worthy of starting up until then. I’d keep riding the hot hand at least through Week 9.
