Golden Nuggets: GAME. DAY. (drink water)

Shanahan reveals why Jennings fell to 49ers in seventh round

"Jauan, luckily he fell, just like Brock [Purdy]. You go back and you watch their college tape and it's the most obvious thing in the world, you're like, 'How could this guy fall?' The NFL overthinks some things," Shanahan told Papa. "I remember the first time I saw Jauan, it wasn't the tape. They put all the combine numbers up, the measurables and stuff — he didn't test well at the combine. Now that I know Jauan, because Jauan had a bad vertical at the combine, but go watch him on YouTube. He can do a 360 dunk. So that doesn't make much sense.

"He [Jennings] had a bad [40-yard dash], but he can run. Watch his post from last week. You see all his numbers up there, now that I know Jauan, I think Jauan is the most confident guy in the world. He probably didn't think he needed to do much at the combine, just didn't take it as seriously as he should've. But when you see those things, guys fall on that. Then he was at a school where a lot of stuff happened at that school at that time. Guys were transferring, I think the coaches were changing, guys were getting kicked out and stuff.

"So, I was like, 'Obviously this guy is at the back of the draft. And then we put on his tape, and his tape looked like a first-or-second rounder. I think he was the all-time leading receiver in Tennessee history. So it didn't totally match up. But when you see those numbers at the combine and stuff, and you hear some of the things that are question marks, then you get an idea of where he's going to go. So we put him as the fifth or sixth round."

Silver: 49ers' collision with Cardinals could get this season back on track — or derail it (paywall)

"Take Arizona seriously, and take care of business on Sunday, and the Niners will be in decent shape, with a chance to draw even (or better) against the Seahawks in Seattle four days later. That Thursday night clash begins a challenging stretch that includes home games against the Chiefs and Cowboys, along with a Nov. 10 game at Tampa Bay following San Francisco's bye week. The Seahawks come to Levi's the next Sunday, and road games against the Packers and Bills follow that.

Given their preponderance of injuries to key players, including reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey, it's reasonable to expect the 49ers to lose one or more of those games. If they're 2-3 when the gantlet begins, that's not an optimal situation.

So yeah, the Niners need to establish their superiority over the Cards and carve out a little breathing room before they take on teams that are better at football."

How gardening has shaped and sustained 49ers' Kyle Juszczyk (paywall)

"Juszczyk, who was raised with his two older brothers by a single mom, attended Harvard and has earned eight Pro Bowl berths in his 12-year NFL career, achieving so much of his success with his singular focus.

His mom, Shari Evans, recalls watching her son, through a window, running backward by himself in the field behind their house as a child, mimicking the backpedal of NFL players he had seen on TV. He was a popular three-sport athlete at Cloverleaf High School, but he didn't party. And he barely dated because he viewed the constant check-ins and calls as an intrusion on his goals. In fact, when he excitedly called his mom after he met Kristin in 2014, his second season in the NFL, she was surprised.

"He called me and said, 'Hey, mom, I met a girl,' " Evans said. "I was thinking, 'This is my son? This is Kyle?' "

The impetus for this story was Juszczyk's ongoing passion for gardening, a hobby he shares with his mom that's unique for an NFL player. Juszczyk grows mainly root vegetables in his garden in Silver Creek and he has a towering hydroponic garden inside that includes bok choy and tatsoi, leafy Asian cabbages, along with cilantro, basil, parsley and chives.

Tight end George Kittle recalls his first visit to the Juszczyks' home in Massapequa, N.Y., when Kyle began the tour by taking Kittle downstairs.

"In his garage, behind a hidden door in his basement, was one of those indoor gardens," Kittle said. "It was completely filled out. It looked like some 'Breaking Bad' stuff. It was behind this plastic curtain. There were two of them. We spent 20 minutes down there with him showing me everything in his gardens. It's not something I would choose to do, but I love it."