Littered with injuries and other setbacks, Jacob Cowing’s rookie preseason was far from ideal.
But that didn’t deter the young wide receiver from earning his place in coach Kyle Shanahan’s plans heading into the 2024 NFL season.
Well, at least that’s what Shanahan revealed to Greg Papa on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “49ers Game Plan” when asked about San Francisco’s No. 135 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
“He had a rough start hurting his hamstring in OTAs and then redoing it in training camp,” Shanahan told Papa. “And then redoing it again. I don’t think it was his hamstring twice, but right when he came back, he had another setback.”
The speedy wideout put together a solid preseason, especially against the Las Vegas Raiders in San Francisco’s preseason finale.
Cowing caught all three of his targets for 39 yards along with a touchdown and returned punts confidently, bringing out three for 19 yards for an average of 6.3 yards per return.
After posting a 4.38 40-yard dash at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine and demonstrating his abilities to return with confidence over the preseason, it’s likely Cowing will get plenty of opportunities to continue putting his speed and skills to the test on punt-return duty throughout the regular season.
“It took him a while to get in, and we needed to see him in games because he was rusty in practices, as he should be, being a rookie and not having all of those reps,” Shanahan added. “But once we saw those games, it was like the guy that we saw on tape. He’s great with the ball in his hand. He plays very physical for a smaller guy. The speed was obvious.
“And the coolest thing is that the game wasn’t too big for him. You could see him comfortable with the punt returns, comfortable with our offense.”
With San Francisco’s 2024 NFL regular-season opener against the New York Jets just days away, it’s likely Cowing will get his moments to truly leave behind his first preseason – one that didn’t have a pleasant start but certainly had a memorable ending.
“He’s been great,” Shanahan concluded. “We’re just trying to get him more reps and used to everything. But he definitely belongs here, and we’re going to bring him along each week. He’s ready to go.”