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Jerry Rice identifies wide receiver 49ers need this offseason – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

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It’s no secret that the 49ers could use help at the wide receiver position this offseason.

With Brandon Aiyuk set to be released or traded this spring, and second-year pro Ricky Pearsall playing in only nine games this season due to a knee injury, with Jaun Jennings and Kendrick Bourne both set to hit unrestricted free agency, San Francisco has a lot of uncertainty at the position heading into the offseason.

So, who should the 49ers target, and should they focus on adding via the draft, free agency, the trade market or all three? However he looks to strengthen the position, famed 49ers wideout Jerry Rice believes the team needs at least one elite type of receiver.

“We’ve got to have a burner, we’ve got to have somebody who can scrape that layer off the top, because you become predictable, and the defensive coordinator, they get a feel for you, and they know we’re only going to throw the ball up the middle or we’re going to throw the ball to the outside,” Rice told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Miocco on Super Bowl Radio Row on Thursday. “You have to be able to throw it over the top.

“Back in the day, Bill Walsh said, ‘Hey, look, even if we don’t make that connection, we’re still going to throw it deep to let opposing defenses know that, hey, we’re not afraid to go deep,’ and I think we need to do that more.”

While many 49ers fans and analysts believe the team should make big changes and pursue a potential blockbuster trade for superstar wideout Justin Jefferson from the Minnesota Vikings, the 2022 Offensive Player of the Year doesn’t fit the “burner” ideal Rice believes San Francisco has offensive needs.

But hey, why not both?

Whether it’s through trade, free agency, or the draft, the 49ers should have options to rebuild an offense that showed great potential this season when healthy.

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