49ers’ Rogers, Smelter among intriguing wideout options

Three years ago, DeAndre Smelter, a junior at Georgia Tech, was a pitcher returning to football after four years away from the sport.

[...] the big-bodied wide receivers are both with the 49ers.

[...] despite their unique backgrounds and inexperience — neither has played an NFL snap — they have a chance to move from the shadows to the spotlight in 2016.

Ten of the 12 wide receivers on their 90-man roster have fewer than 37 career catches and are younger than 26 years old.

Rogers (6-foot-3, 210 pounds), the 49ers’ tallest wide receiver, received offers from 13 NFL teams after he led the CFL with 1,448 receiving yards, tied for the league-best in receiving touchdowns (10) and was third in receptions (87) last season with the Calgary Stampeders.

A 2015 fourth-round pick who missed his first season with a torn ACL, Smelter was a high-school pitcher who was selected in the 14th round by the Twins in 2010.

[...] after shoulder injuries derailed his career at Georgia Tech in 2013, he moved to the football team, a sport he hadn’t played since he was junior in high school.

After what he’s termed a “warm-up year” in 2013, he averaged 20.5 yards on 35 catches as a senior in a run-heavy, triple-option offense before suffering his knee injury with two games remaining.

[...] his hands are the largest possessed by a wide receiver at the combine in the past decade.

Smith, 27, and Jerome Simpson, 30, the latter of whom isn’t guaranteed to make the 53-man roster, are the 49ers’ only wideouts with more than 36 career catches.

[...] despite the lack of proven options, the 49ers haven’t re-signed Anquan Boldin, 35, their leader in receptions and receiving yards in each of the past three seasons.