San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers Need to Get WR Torrey Smith More Involved

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Wide receiver Torrey Smith needs to be more involved in the San Francisco 49ers offense after scantly being targeted by quarterback Blaine Gabbert.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert isn’t exactly known for his throws down the field. And yet the Niners have one true deep threat in veteran wide receiver Torrey Smith.

Smith has been targeted 20 times this season, yet he has hauled in just eight catches for 103 yards and one touchdown.

The 49ers need to figure out ways to get him more involved.

The 27-year-old speedster is, perhaps, the top threat San Francisco has in its passing game. While other options are nice, Smith is likely the only player opposing defenses would have to scheme against.

It makes sense. Earlier this offseason, NFL analyst Nate Burleson (h/t Joe Fann of 49ers.com) noted Smith could have a great year in head coach Chip Kelly’s offense.

And downfield plays, like this one versus the Carolina Panthers in Week 2, suggest how Smith can use his advantage to get behind the defense:

Blaine Gabbert to Torrey Smith

https://t.co/F6UwY4Hhye

— 49ersSpin (@49ersSpin) September 18, 2016

But there’s more than just long passes (from an inconsistent quarterback) behind why Smith needs to be more involved.

Smith has a knack for drawing pass-interference penalties, as was demonstrated back in 2014, and also has a demonstrated ability to pick up huge chunks on plays needing between four and six yards.

His career split in this category — 21.8 yards per reception. The next closest is on plays of 10-plus yards (17.2 YPC). Oh, and Smith has converted 117 first downs on this 10-plus yard plays, which blows the remaining distance splits out of the water (obvious reasons considered).

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Gabbert hasn’t shown the regularity for throwing a deep ball. This year, Gabbert’s passer rating is a lowly 67.4 on plays of 10-plus yards. Gabbert’s rating on one-to-three-yard plays? Yeah, 90.0.

Not a good strength to focus on.

But plays involving Smith will at least force defenses to play back and respect the deep ball. San Francisco should target the speedy wideout at least eight-plus times per game.

The offense will be thankful for it.

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of ESPN.com, Pro-Football-Reference.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated.

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