The 49ers need some help in their tight end room. George Kittle is still one of the NFL’s best, but San Francisco has long been in search of an effective, versatile TE to slot in alongside him. Ross Dwelley and Charlie Woerner are both capable, but there could certainly be some improvement there. It appears they’ll aim to unearth their next TE via the draft, and they met with Oklahoma’s Brayden Willis during the combine per the Draft Network’s Justin Melo.
Willis is an interesting player. His measurables don’t jump off the screen. He’s 6-3, 241 pounds and there’s not a ton of explosiveness to his game.
However, he’s a capable blocker as either an in-line TE or as an H-back. Willis isn’t likely to dominate as a blocker, but his effort is there and it stands to reason getting into the 49ers’ offense would help him improve in that area.
He also played in 58 games with 25 starts across his five seasons with the Sooners. In those contests he racked up 75 catches, 998 yards and 13 touchdown catches. He broke out during his final year when he put up 39 receptions for 514 yards and seven touchdowns.
There’s a fluidity and nuance to his route running that should make him a functional pass-catcher in an offense where he’s alongside so many other weapons. Plenty of his 75 catches came in instances where he’s flowing back against play action or fitting into a seam after a linebacker was cleared out with another TE or receiver. Those are the kinds of plays he’d be asked to make in San Francisco’s offense, and he proved capable of doing that at Oklahoma.
The 2023 draft class at tight end is deep and the 49ers may be aiming for a higher-rated prospect, but Willis still checks a lot of boxes if they want to try and find a TE late in the draft.