There is an old saying that goes “Study the past”. For the 49ers, a quick read shows that their history of selecting wide receivers in the first round isn’t very good.
Start in 1995 when the defending champs moved up to pick UCLA’s JJ Stokes, the apparent heir to John Taylor. Stokes missed 14 of a possible 32 games in his first two seasons in the league, allowing for the emergence of Terrell Owens, a 3rd round pick from the 1996 Draft. Although Stokes started alongside Owens in 1997, and put up career high numbers in 1998, he never blossomed into the kind of big play receiver the 49ers expected when they moved up 20 spots in the first round to get him.