Day 2 draft pick could be used on tight end to pair up with Kittle
SANTA CLARA >> It's time the 49ers draft a tight end in the first three rounds, something that hasn't happened since 2013.
Or this could be like so many other years, when they try to find a Day 3 gem, a la George Kittle's discovery in the 2017 fifth round.
Kittle remains the NFL'S pseudo-spokesman for tight ends. When he gets hurt, the 49ers lose a significant luster. They've strived for years to find a dynamic complement and understudy for him.
Currently, they have the same unit as last season. This coming draft should add more competition, and that could compel them to use one of their top picks on a tight end, those coming on Day 2, April 29 in the second round (No. 61 overall) and third round (Nos. 93 and 105).
Here is how the tight end spot looks:
WHO'S HERE >> Kittle, Charlie Woerner, Ross Dwelley, Tanner Hudson, Jordan Matthews.
ANALYSIS >> This is a tightknit unit, with Kittle the ring leader entering his sixth season. They're 6-8 when he misses games to injury. After 20 touchdowns in 67 regular-season games, his first playoff score (in the NFC Championship Game) likely will go down as Jimmy Garoppolo's final touchdown pass. Woerner, a blocking specialist, overtook Dwelley as TE2 last season.
DRAFT DYNAMOS >> Trey Mcbride (Colorado State), Jeremy Ruckert (Ohio State), Greg Dulcich (UCLA), Jelani Woods (Virginia), Charlie Kolar (Iowa State), Jake Ferguson (Wisconsin), Daniel Bellinger (San Diego State), Cade Otton
(Washington), Isaiah Likely (Coastal Carolina). ANALYSIS >> Mcbride was an All-american and the John Mackey Award winner for his 1,121-yard season, but he scored on only one of his 90 catches on a run-first offense. Ruckert (6-foot5) and Dulcich (6-4) are tall targets, but the most intriguing who might be more available to the 49ers is Woods, whose 6-7 frame hauled in eight touchdown catches last season. Kolar was a Cyclones captain and three-time academic All-american. Ferguson was not only the Badgers' leading receiver, he is the grandson of former coach and athletics director Barry Alvarez. Bellinger shined at the Senior Bowl and combine, earning him an interview with 49ers' GM John Lynch.
Kittle admirers
On April 13, Kittle dined with three prospects who share his agent: Wisconsin's Ferguson, San Diego State's Bellinger, and Iowa State's Chase Allen.
Asked at the combine which NFL tight ends he admires, Mcbride first named fellow Fort Morgan (Colo.) product and NFL alumnus Joel Dreessen, then added: “George Kittle, he's a guy that I think I play a lot like, a guy who can kind of be a threat in the run game and also a guy that can be a threat in the pass game as well, really a complete tight end.”
Ruckert, Ohio State's all-time touchdown leader among tight ends, said at the combine: “I watch a lot of George Kittle. I love the way he plays the game, his mindset, all of the jobs that he does. He's an everydown tight end, he can do everything, he excels at everything. But the biggest thing that sticks out when you watch him is his mentality and mindset. He's not just trying to block somebody he's trying to take him out and I respect that. I try to model my game after that.”
Woods' audibles
Woods' idols are Tony Gonzalez, Rob Gronkowski and Marcedes Lewis.
He could have said a quarterback. After all, he was a dual-threat quarterback before switching to tight end his freshman year at Oklahoma State, and later transferring to Virginia.
“At quarterback I was a dual threat so I was running and getting physical.
Switching of course made it more physical. But I enjoyed it and that was pretty smooth transition,” Woods said at the combine.
49ERS LEGACY >> Derrick Deese Jr. (San Jose State)
Deese had three 100-yard games his final season with the Spartans (46 catches, 723 yards, four touchdowns). His father was a versatile offensive lineman for the 49ers from 19922003; two years after arriving as an undrafted free agent out of USC, he started at right guard on the franchise's last Lombardi Trophy-winning team.
Other locals to watch: Jake Tonges (Cal) and Tucker Fisk (Stanford).
Draft expert's take
“It's a pretty good tight end draft. There's no Kyle Pitts, but there is a ton of depth.” — Daniel Jeremiah, NFL Network.
Draft picks
Round One (none), Two (No. 61 overall), Three (Nos. 93, 105), Four (No. 134), Five (No. 172), Six (Nos. 187, 220, 221), Seven (No. 262).
History lesson
The 49ers last drafted a tight end in the first three rounds in 2013, when they spent a second-rounder slot on Vance Mcdonald, whom they traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers three days after they drafted Kittle.