The San Francisco 49ers made a high profile addition to their coaching staff this offseason, bringing on Wes Welker to coach the wide receivers. The entire coaching staff is at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis and Welker has been busy meeting with wide receivers.
Wide receivers had their media sessions on Friday, and several of them told 49ers beat writers they have had or will have meetings with the team. The team is allowed 60 sessions that last 15 minutes apiece, and the 49ers are taking advantage of their opportunities.
Earlier today, A.J. Brown (Ole Miss) said he had a meeting planned with the team. Since then, we have learned the team has met with Deebo Samuel (South Carolina), Riley Ridley (Georgia), D.K. Metcalf (Ole Miss), and Andy Isabella (Massachusetts). One common refrain was that they were star struck getting a chance to meet Wes Welker.
Samuel said he met with new #49ers WR coach Wes Welker and they went over film. Samuel left the meeting and had to double take, realizing he just met with Wes Welker.
— Chris Biderman (@ChrisBiderman) March 1, 2019
Add UMASS’ Andy Isabella to the list of receivers to meet with the #49ers at the combine. He said he was star struck when he met Wes Welker. Also spoke at length with new assistant Miles Austin.
— Chris Biderman (@ChrisBiderman) March 1, 2019
Add UMASS’ Andy Isabella to the list of receivers to meet with the #49ers at the combine. He said he was star struck when he met Wes Welker. Also spoke at length with new assistant Miles Austin.
— Chris Biderman (@ChrisBiderman) March 1, 2019
D.K. Metcalf explained that he was very thankful for the lesson that #49ers Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch and Wes Welker taught him in his meeting with them.
— Jennifer Lee Chan (@jenniferleechan) March 1, 2019
What was that lesson?
“To keep my cool.” - Metcalf
Ridley’s takeaway from meeting with the #49ers: “They’re looking for a receiver.”
— Chris Biderman (@ChrisBiderman) March 1, 2019
The team has been connected to Antonio Brown and Odell Beckham Jr, but odds of acquiring either in a trade are relatively slim for the time being. The 49ers seem unlikely to spend a high first round pick on the position, but there is always the possibility they move down in the first, and that second round pick could be the perfect position for some of these guys.
The 49ers have likely spoken with more than just this group of receivers. They also will visit a host of Pro Day workouts in March and can host up to 30 players on official visits to Santa Clara. There’s no guarantee they draft a player brought in for a visit, and more than likely, they’ll draft some players they had little interaction with leading up to the draft. But little tidbits like this at least offer a little more detail as to where they might be leaning. We’ll see if any of these guys ends up in red and gold two months from now.