Will Trent Taylor’s playing time keep increasing for 49ers?

The San Francisco 49ers gave wide receiver Trent Taylor the most playing time he’s got all season against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3. He took part in 39 offensive snaps, a significant bump given he was under 30 snaps the previous two weeks.

Taylor had a good game, catching three passes for 32 yards and a touchdown, plus the offensive pass interference play that probably should not have been called by the referee. If you factor that one in, Taylor had himself a pretty great game against the Rams.

He’s a rookie, taken in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft, and currently he’s the third receiver on the field. He does have fewer catches, targets and yards than Marquise Goodwin and Pierre Garcon, and I don’t think Taylor is on the cusp of usurping either player given he’s a slot receiver and fits best there.

But I do wonder if his playing time is only going to go up. The 49ers aren’t 100 percent sure what they have with Taylor and neither are we. When they drafted him, I honestly didn’t think that much of him. When he made the roster and was listed as the third receiver, I genuinely thought he wasn’t going to play that much.

Then, of course, the 49ers moved on from Jeremy Kerley, which could only be seen as a huge vote of confidence in Taylor ability to at least produce as the third receiver on the depth chart.

He didn’t do much in the team’s first two games, but I thought he looked pretty good against the Rams. He ran strong routes, his hands were good and Brian Hoyer paid him plenty of attention. I’m excited to see where he goes next.