49ers hope Jenkins grows up faster 49ERS

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Deep in an NFL regular season, coaches are fond of saying their first-year players are no longer rookies.

In the case of A.J. Jenkins, however, that cliche has yet to be applied.

After 16 regular-season games, the 49ers' first-round pick has compiled a stat line befitting an undrafted free agent: three games, 37 snaps, one target and one drop.

Jenkins' zero-catch season ended ignominiously in Sunday's 27-13 win over Arizona when, wide open in the right flat, he dropped a pillow-soft, third-down throw from Colin Kaepernick in the first quarter.

A day later, head coach Jim Harbaugh, whose unprompted and spirited retort to Jenkins' critics was an indelible training-camp moment, fell short of echoing his prediction that "A.J. is going to be an outstanding football player."

Asked if Jenkins could contribute in the playoffs, Harbaugh responded, "Do I think he can? Yes. Will we need him to? Yes. We need him to step up and we definitely think he's capable of doing that."

Similarly, the man who picked Jenkins, general manager Trent Baalke, didn't offer a brimming-with-confidence sound bite when he looked ahead to Jenkins in the playoffs.

A.J. Jenkins, who caught a pass from Colin Kaepernick in the preseason, needs to get a grip if the 49ers are to advance. A.J. Jenkins, who caught a pass from Colin Kaepernick in the preseason, needs to get a grip if the 49ers are to advance. Photo: Lance Iversen, The Chronicle Photo: Lance Iversen, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close 49ers hope Jenkins grows up faster 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

"Young players, they've got to grow up," Baalke said Monday on 95.7 FM. "And unfortunately, or fortunately, he needs to do so in a hurry."

With Mario Manningham (knee) placed on injured reserve last week, San Francisco is hoping Jenkins' development accelerates. Without Manningham, San Francisco's threadbare wide-receiving corps counts red-hot Michael Crabtree (85 catches, 1,105 yards) as its lone member with more than 29 receptions.

Six weeks removed from his 36th birthday, Randy Moss (28 catches, 434 yards) had fewer than three receptions in 11 of San Francisco's final 13 games. Ted Ginn? The 49ers have inserted him for 67 offensive plays this season, including seven Sunday, and he has had more yards rushing (7) than receiving (1).

Given his options, Kaepernick, not surprisingly, has force-fed Crabtree in the quarterback's seven starts. Kaepernick has targeted Crabtree with 66 passes, 40 more than Moss, his second-favorite target.

The chuck-it-to Crabtree plan worked brilliantly against the Cardinals on Sunday as the fourth-year wideout had eight catches for a career-high 172 yards.

Crabtree figures to encounter more resistance in the postseason. Against Seattle, which boasts two top-end cornerbacks in Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner, Crabtree had eight catches for 96 yards in two games.

Of course, the 49ers also possess pass-catching tight ends in Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker, who had 14 of his 21 catches and 255 of his 344 yards in Kaepernick's seven starts. Davis, however, is in the midst of a six-game, six-catch stretch and has discussed a slow-to-develop chemistry with his new quarterback.

The upshot is the 49ers could use a contribution from Jenkins.

"He dropped a layup (Sunday), which was disappointing," Baalke said. "... Guys are going to make mistakes and they've got to work through them. And they've got to step up. Like I always believe, if you put them in the right situation, and you give them the opportunities, and you've picked the right person, and they're competitive by nature, they'll figure it out."

After 16 games, the question remains: Did the 49ers pick the right person?

They hope to finally receive an affirmative answer in the playoffs.