The 49ers desperately need to address the wide receiver position this offseason, and it appears as if they are prepared to do so with a substantial investment in free agency.
San Francisco will part company with Brandon Aiyuk when the new league year opens next week, and Jauan Jennings appears likely to go elsewhere in free agency.
Those departures will leave the receiver depth chart looking extremely shaky and, while it is a strong draft at the position, the Niners would benefit from having a proven commodity come in at wideout.
And, per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the 49ers are keen on two pending free agent receivers who are likely to command lucrative deals.
Responding to a question about rumors surrounding the 49ers in a mailbag article, Breer wrote of the receiver spot: “Help is needed, for sure. Along those lines, I’ve heard they have an interest in both Alec Pierce and Romeo Doubs on the free-agent market.
“And failing that, there’s a deep class in the draft, with Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr. sticking out as a nice fit for San Francisco.”
Pierce in line for big payday
Pierce and Doubs should both be the subject of a lot of interest when the NFL’s ‘legal tampering’ period opens on Monday, though it is the former who may command a more lucrative deal.
Indeed, Pierce has a market value of $20.24 million per year, per Spotrac, while Doubs is down at just over $12 million.
A clear gap in production is the reason for that disparity. Pierce is coming of a 1,000-yard season for the Indianapolis Colts in which he led the NFL in yards per reception for the second season running, averaging 21.3 yards in 2025 after averaging 22.3 yards in 2024.
Doubs, meanwhile, has never put up 800 yards in a season, his production limited in part by the number of mouths the Green Bay Packers have had to feed in recent years.
Yet both fit the mold the 49ers are likely to be looking for at wideout as they bid to replace Aiyuk and fill a gaping void at X receiver. Both can play the X and stretch the field significantly while doing so, though it is Pierce who stands as the greater threat in this regard.
Pierce’s average depth of target last year was 20 yards, and he had five touchdowns on 28 targets of 20 yards or more, per PFF. Doubs, meanwhile, caught nine of his 18 such targets for 293 yards and one touchdown. His average depth of target was 12.9 yards.
Both receivers fit with an offense that is, when Brock Purdy is healthy and starting at quarterback, more predicated on aggressive throws than it is on yardage after the catch, with neither Pierce nor Doubs having particularly excelled in the latter area.
Doubs has had issues with drops earlier in his career, but he had only three on 85 targets in 2025, though that was still inferior to Piece, who dropped just one of his 84 targets. Yet Doubs does have a marginal edge in one area.
Doubs the smarter signing
Average separation is an imperfect statistic because it doesn’t differentiate between man and zone coverage. Still, Doubs, per NextGenStats, averaged 2.3 yards last season, just ahead of Pierce on 2.1. Doubs posted those numbers while receiving an average cushion of six yards, compared to 6.3 for Pierce.
And to watch Doubs is to watch a receiver who looks the archetypal Kyle Shanahan receiver, which makes sense given he has spent his entire career playing in what is foundationally the same scheme under Matt LaFleur.
Doubs wins consistently with his release, marrying change of direction quickness with intelligent hand usage. He also has the stop-start quickness to thrive on the timing routes that are a staple of the Shanahan scheme.
It is highly unlikely the 49ers will push to sign both Pierce and Doubs. If there is such a significant disparity in opportunity cost, then Doubs stands out as the better option who would allow the 49ers to commit more cap space to other positions.
The 49ers’ receiving depth chart will look a lot different this time next week, but it will look a lot better if one of Pierce or Doubs is on it.
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