Breaking down the 90 players on the 49ers’ offseason roster in 90 posts (over 90 or so days). Today is tight end Brayden Willis
The San Francisco 49ers struck gold on Day 3 of the 2017 NFL Draft when Iowa tight end George Kittle fell into their laps due to lack of college production and an injury history the league didn’t feel was worthy of taking a chance on.
Boy, were they wrong.
Fast forward to 2024, and Kittle has cemented himself as one of the best tight ends in the game for several years running. But the Niners have gone out of their way to find a complement to Kittle.
They’ve gone the veteran route, using the big-bodied, blocking type or the smaller, more pass-catching threat. After going through endless options, there has yet to be a consistent threat opposite Kittle that strikes fear in the eyes of the opponents.
The front office has an impressive hit rate in the seventh round. Their quarterback and third wide receiver were drafted in the seventh. Brayden Willis, a seventh-rounder from 2023, looks to continue the success in the final round.
Basic Info
Age: 24
Experience: 1 accrued season
Height: 6’4
Weight: 241 pounds
Cap Status
Willis enters the second season of his four-year rookie contract. Willis will have a cap number of $934,975. His prorated signing bonus is $19,975. If Willis does not make the roster, the Niners will save $915,000 and only accumulate Wilis’s signing bonus as the dead money amount.
Willis’s roster status in 2024
Willis has the skill set to thrive in the 49ers’ offense. He’s not necessarily “fast” or explosive, but the second-year tight end from Oklahoma is shifty enough to win 1-on-1 matchups. The problem for Willis as a rookie was holding up as a blocker.
Kansas City did not respect Willis as a blocker and kept an extra defensive back on the field despite Willis being a tight end. Willis was flagged for one penalty on only four run-blocking snaps.
During the season, Willis played sparingly. He didn’t play more than 30 snaps, so outside of training camp, there wasn’t much to judge his play by.
Willis has the athleticism advantage over the bigger Eric Saubert and his healthy, unlike third-round pick Cam Latu. I’d imagine Willis took the offseason to get stronger so he could be viewed as an every-down player.
These next few months will be critical for Willis. He’s the smallest tight end on a team that prides itself on running the football and building passing concepts off that run action. You don’t have to be as big, fast, or strong as Kittle to be useful. The team needs consistency. If Willis can provide that, he’ll be the TE2 this season.
But he’ll have Latu, Saubert, Jake Tonges, and Mason Pline on his heels. Pline’s basketball background makes him an intriguing option, but training camp will tell us how close he is to contributing as a rookie.