The San Francisco 49ers went into full makeover mode this offseason. They are determined to bounce back from last year’s disaster. Sure, they had to make some brutal roster cuts—probably the kind that kept the front office up at night. However, they managed to lock down their most important pieces. At the top of that list? QB Brock Purdy, who just cashed in with a massive five-year, $265 million extension.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. With Deebo Samuel out of the picture and Brandon Aiyuk still rehabbing a knee injury, the receiving corps might be looking pretty thin. Also Demarcus Robinson is likely to miss the first few games after his recent DUI mess. Yeah, it’s that bad.

But apparently, another receiver has been turning heads and getting Purdy’s attention during practice. The 49ers know they can’t afford to waste their quarter-billion-dollar investment. So they’re serious about surrounding their elite quarterback with every weapon they can find.

NFL rumors stirred the pot on Monday with this update: “NFL RUMORS: The #49ers are expected to show interest in Keenan Allen with Robinson missing games to start the season and Brandon Aiyuk working through an injury.” But here’s the bright side. The 49ers currently hold the third-most salary cap space in the league. Also, there are still plenty of solid veteran receivers out there looking for work. All eyes are on San Francisco now to see how they’ll reinforce their offense before Week 1.

That’s why Bleacher Report is beating the drum for San Francisco to go after Keenan Allen. The guy’s 33, but he’s still got it where it counts. “At 33, Keenan Allen can still help a playoff contender or young quarterback with his reliable hands and ability to find the end zone once his team reaches the red zone,” writes Bleacher Report‘s Moe Moton.

Allen’s career 68.1 percent catch rate speaks for itself, and he’s been money in the red zone — nine of his last 14 touchdowns came from within 16 yards of the goal line. And with the 49ers just handing Brock Purdy a monster five-year, $265 million extension, it’s clear he’s going to need weapons he can count on — especially as Christian McCaffrey gets up there in age. That quarter-billion-dollar quarterback is going to have to do more heavy lifting this season.

Allen would fit perfectly in three-receiver sets alongside Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall. He’s definitely a step up from Robinson and would give the 49ers the luxury of bringing Aiyuk back slowly without rushing his return. But wait, there’s more.

This Monday, the 49ers and 24/7 NFL News X account shared another juicy tidbit: “The #49ers could boost their roster with FA WR Amari Cooper & LB Kyzir White. Cooper brings depth for Purdy, while White is a proven tackler with durability.” That has Bleacher Report pushing for Amari Cooper, too. “The 49ers agreed to terms on a five-year, $265 million extension with quarterback Brock Purdy,” writes Moton. “Now, they must add another proven playmaker at receiver to help support him.” With Brandon Aiyuk possibly missing half the 2025 campaign while recovering from a torn ACL and MCL, adding Cooper makes sense.

General Manager John Lynch even acknowledged (via The Athletic‘s Matt Barrows) that the league could suspend Demarcus Robinson for the first three games of the upcoming season due to a November DUI arrest. Yes, Cooper dealt with injuries in 2024, but when healthy, the 30-year-old can still ball out. With McCaffrey aging and Purdy needing to carry more of the load, San Francisco should be grabbing every quality receiver they can get their hands on.

But here’s the kicker. Kyle Shanahan is busy checking out weapons for his quarterback. However, Brock Purdy—despite that massive extension—hasn’t yet cracked the top ranks among all 32 starting NFL quarterbacks. That might just be the motivation the team needs to load up around him before Week 1.

Spoiler alert: The $265 million man didn’t crack the top 10

That’s gotta hurt. Brock Purdy’s been talking that top-10 quarterback talk. But Pro Football Focus just hit him with a reality check he probably wasn’t expecting. The 49ers’ star quarterback landed at No. 11 in PFF’s latest QB rankings. Clearly, missing out on that coveted top 10 by literally one spot.

“Purdy may be ͏a͏ product of the syste͏m ͏and surrounding talen͏t. But h͏e͏’s still l͏ed o͏ne of ͏the͏ NFL’s mos͏t ͏eff͏icient off͏enses over t͏he͏ p͏ast ͏three seasons,” PF͏F’s John Kosko w͏rote. “His play ͏dipped ͏slightly in 2͏024 as the ͏49ers bat͏tled injuries acros͏s the offensive line͏ and receiving corps. ͏Yet͏ he still posted the͏ league’͏s top success rate over t͏he p͏ast two years, alongside a seve͏nth-best 90͏.0 PFF grade.” The t͏op ͏10 ahead ͏o͏f h͏im?͏ Geno͏ Smit͏h, Jared Go͏ff, Justin Herbert, Matthew Staff͏ord, Jayden ͏Daniels, J͏alen H͏u͏rts, Jo͏sh Allen, La͏mar Ja͏ckson, Joe ͏Bur͏row, and Patrick Mah͏omes rou͏nd͏ ou͏t the list͏ from 10 to 1.

When KNBR’s Murph & Markus asked Brock Purdy point-blank if he believes he’s top-10 material, he didn’t flinch.
“Yes, sir,” Purdy said on Thursday. “Yeah, for sure, I think I’m a top-10 quarterback. I’ll leave it at that. I’m not going to create a list or anything right now.” Pro Football Focus used “recent performance and career trajectory” to shape their rankings. And honestly, 11th out of 32 isn’t bad. Still, this debate is going to follow Purdy for a long time. Especially with that monster contract looming over him.

Good thing the only rankings that really matter happen on game day.