WCF Film Room: 49ers preseason week 2 stock down, pass catcher edition

Preseason week 2 players whose stock has fallen.

***Author’s note: Ahead of the final preseason game tonight, here are my stock down players. I don’t anticipate this changing with one game left but I wanted to push this out to the subscribers regardless. If you aren’t a paying subscriber, I would love and appreciate your support. If not, that’s okay too! I truly appreciate everyone who clicks on the articles and reads my ramblings.***

In my week two stock risers article, I covered how well Dominick Puni and Curtis Robinson have been playing through two preseason games, as well as detailing a bit about how Jacob Cowing’s preseason debut went last Sunday night versus the Saints. Heading into week three, here are four players, I believe, whose stock is falling.

Let's just get right into it.

Trent Taylor nostalgia runs its course

It’s not at all clear why Trent Taylor was brought back to the 49ers after previously being let go after his rookie contract. He hasn’t caught a touchdown pass since 2020 with the 49ers and couldn’t break through with Joe Burrow as his quarterback in Cincinnati, catching just eight passes in two seasons there, and zero passes with the Bears last season. Additionally, he fumbled two punt returns last season for the Bears.

As a receiver, he hasn’t fared any better, frequently getting hung up in man coverage and having poor route mechanics at the top of his stem. On at least four occasions in two games, the quarterbacks have taken sacks or thrown errant passes because of his inability to get off press coverage or avoid collisions.

In the first play, Taylor can’t get off the jam in time to give Brandon Allen a throw. Taylor is the hot here after Allen sees the free rusher but wisely eats the sack when Taylor took too long getting off the jam.

In the second play, he’s erratic at the top of his stem and can’t avoid a collision with the defender whose face he should be crossing. Josh Dobbs ends up basically throwing it away instead of putting it in harm’s way.

Against the Saints, he fell down on one route and couldn’t fight through contact on another route to get open on a corner. The throw in the second clip was a bad decision by Purdy to throw the corner route against coverage basically blanketing Taylor as it was nearly intercepted but this doesn’t take away from the fact Taylor just can’t get off sticky man coverage if he’s not running a choice route.

On top of that, he’s just slow in and out of his breaks, couldn’t catch a difficult pass that was tipped right into his hands in the end zone, and lacks an ability to run away from defenders on his routes. In week two, Taylor was not on the field for a single special teams snap either. Probably due to a lackluster week one performance returning kicks and punts.

In week one he returned one punt for four yards and let another go over his head into the end zone when a decent return out of it was possible. On kickoffs, he was decent with the returns but they can get that yardage with any other special teams returner. In week two, presumably because they were disappointed with his punt returns in week one, Jacob Cowing instead was inserted as the primary punt returner. Taylor was also taken off kick returns to start that game as well.

He could presumably make the roster in the 6th receiver spot for special teams but I have a hard time seeing how that’s possible. Week three special teams will further highlight how they see his role going forward. As a receiver, I would have a hard time giving him a roster spot and playing time on offense with how abysmal he’s looked running routes in two games.

Ronnie Bell…

Ronnie Bell’s struggles continued on Sunday in week two. That does not bode well for him as he’s likely in jeopardy of not making the cut and possibly finding himself on the practice squad. Right now I have six receivers for sure making the cut for the final 53. They are Aiyuk (he’s a 49er until he’s not), Deebo, Jennings, Pearsall, and Cowing, and Conley.

For being a year two receiver in the offense, Bell has made mistake after mistake in two preseason games so far and hasn’t really done anything to help himself earn a roster spot in a position that has pretty good depth.

Against the Titans, Bell dropped a deep pass down the sideline after a pass by Brandon Allen was under-thrown and inside. But it was a difficult catch he should have made after making a nice adjustment on it.

He only received one more target after that throw, gaining 1-yard on a screen pass. In week two it was more of the same.

Although this wasn’t scored as a drop in the Saints game, it was a pass that should not have been knocked away that he should have secured.

Later in the first half versus the Saints, Bell also had a couple of mistakes running his routes. On one pass, he broke inside when Dobbs threw outside. With quarterback/receiver miscommunication, the culprit is almost always receiver error. Dobbs was expecting him to cut outside.

On another play, Dobbs threw a back shoulder ball to Bell in the end zone but Bell was not expecting the pass where it ended up. Instead of looking back shoulder behind himself for the ball, he looked up expecting a jump pass. With the defender leverage high and inside, it’s not clear why he would look up for a pass instead of where the defender isn’t.

The one bright spot for Bell was this block on Jacob Cowing’s 19 yard jet sweep and is the definition of playing through the whistle. He drove the defender into the Saints sideline making sure his guy couldn’t make the play. However, I have a hard time seeing how Bell makes the 53. He might be a practice squad candidate.

**Friday 8-23-2024 update: It’s possible another one of these guys like Bell, Danny Gray, or someone like Tay Martin make the cut as well with the Ricky Pearsall news.**

The tight ends Brayden Willis and Cameron Latu

I don’t think Brayden Willis or Cam Latu will end up as the backup tight ends behind Kittle at the end of the preseason. If either of those two have a chance, it’s likely Willis but that’s not a good thing. The re-signing of Logan Thomas gives the 49ers a quality backup tight end who could serve as another big slot target as well. But he was cut two weeks into camp and just resigned to the team as they prepare for week three. It’s doubtful he plays in the Raiders game.

But the move might signal they have seen enough from Willis and Latu as both have also struggled in the preseason.

In week one, Willis struggled in run blocking and had only one target, a high pass over his from Brandon Allen. But the first and second drives were kind to him as a blocker as he got stood up several times.

Versus the Saints, he caught all three of his targets but on a scramble drill, he took himself out of the play when he went up field along the sideline instead of coming back down the line to Purdy. As a result, Purdy ended up sacking himself because he didn’t throw it away.

As the sideline receiver, Willis needed to work back down the line to his quarterback regardless. I still think Willis probably ends up as TE2 though he’ll likely have Logan Thomas nipping at his heels.

As far as Cam Latu, I don’t think he makes the cut this season. He obviously does not show the ability to be a suitable pass catching target and he struggles in pass protection and run blocking as well.

He had a dropped pass versus the Saints on a pass he should have held on to and he nearly fumbled another that he caught.

And he could have made a nice grab on a pass that landed nearly at his feet on a deep ball into the end zone.

On several other plays, he struggled fighting off contact, struggled staying on his feet without stumbling through his routes, and in general just consistently looks out of his element. I’m not sure he’s going to make it at this point as even a practice squad player.

Unless all of these guys go off on Friday night versus the Raiders, I don’t see how any of them or most of them make the team except to maybe take a spot on the practice squad. The receiver position itself highlights the tough competition guys like Ronnie Bell and veterans like Trent Taylor face daily. At tight end, reps swing the opposite direction, showing the lack of a quality backup depth behind George Kittle. At least with Ross Dwelley and Charlie Woerner, the 49ers tight end depth was a bit more suitable and stable.