Kyle’s update, 10:33 am: I went through all the touches of Austin in 2019:
Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the San Francisco 49ers bring in wide receiver Tavon Austin for a training session with hopes of signing him. The Niners were down to eight healthy receivers after Travis rejected Benjamin. We went over five replacement agent-wide receivers that Benjamin could replace last week, and Austin was one:
When you come to Austin, you know there are slim choices. I almost went with former Falcon Justin Hardy, but he’s not a deep threat. While Austin Dallas was known for being a “gadget” player most of his career Austin the field last season. Austin scored one of his six goals over 20 yards. According to Football Outsiders, Austin had an average depth of 13.9 yards on seven first-down goals last season that produced a -29.3% DVOA. Yikes.
Austin has profitable value, but he also struggled on points last year.
The obvious counterpoint here is that Kyle Shanahan would know what to do with a player like Austin compared to Jason Garrett. Austin will be a complementary piece if he is involved in the Niners offense.
The 49ers would also regain the speed element with Austin, after Benjamin opted for it. Austin did not return any points last year, but he did have 185 returns during his career. Maybe the 49ers would want Austin to complete that role.
How would you feel about signing Austin?
