The former first round pick has been battling injuries throughout his time with the team. Once heralded ‘the next Jerry Rice’, Stokes has been simply a good receiver and thus never reaching the expectations the 49ers had of him. He’d love all that to change now that he is fully healthy and able to develop a rapport with quarterback Jeff Garcia.

Truth be told, Stokes numbers were not that terrible. He had a lower percentage of dropped passes than any other receiving threat on the 49ers last season. He’s always demonstrated great route running and his hands have come along way since his rookie season. The big receiver can always be counted on for a first down, and seems to play at a higher level in the playoffs and in the red zone. It is that level that Stokes will try and maintain throughout the game.

Offensive coordinator Greg Knapp had some encouraging things to say about the receiver: “J.J.*s our best route-runner, plus he*s able to use his size [6-4, 217] effectively. Last year, he had seven red- zone touchdowns, and that’s as much as anybody. You can’t just look at his reception total, because in the West Coast offense, he’s not going to get the ball a lot.”