The 49ers experienced a huge drop-off in their production in one key area last year, and that could influence their plans in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The level of the need the 49ers have at several positions means they could go in a host of different directions with the highest draft pick they have held since 2021. Nothing, except for quarterback and specialists, is off the table.
San Francisco has never been scared to pass up on picks to address seemingly obvious immediate needs, as last year’s decision not to take an offensive lineman until the third round illustrated.
And, though the offensive line and defensive line are both among their primary needs in this year’s draft, it would be no surprise to see the 49ers go elsewhere.
Stacking Brock Purdy’s deck of skill-position talents would be an understandable temptation for the 49ers, and a key failing on the offensive side of the ball could be a factor for San Francisco when considering whether to take one of the most versatile prospects in the entire draft at No. 11.
The 49ers’ need at tight end is not a pressing one – though they certainly would benefit from having another pass-catching threat at the position to go with George Kittle – but the thought of them adding Penn State’s Tyler Warren to the offense is an enticing one.
Warren would provide the 49ers with a significantly increased menu on the offensive side of the ball. A player who can line up anywhere in the offensive formation from fullback and wildcat quarterback, to split out as a de-facto wide receiver. The enhanced scope for flexibility in several different personnel groups is reason in itself for San Francisco to be seriously tempted by the idea of adding Warren to the mix.
A very special set of skills
San Francisco struck out with two tight end draft picks in 2023, with Cameron Latu no longer on the team and Brayden Willis stuck at the bottom of the depth chart. For the 49ers to even consider taking one in the first round, the player in question needs to be one who can help them in essentially every department right off the bat.
A substantial downfield threat who can win with his route-running and consistently make contested catches, and make a substantial difference in the blocking game, Warner meets that criteria.
He is a highly proficient open-field blocker in the run game who can also work in-line, as a H-back and as a fullback. While far from the finished article in this regard, Warren has shown huge promise in having the power to move defensive ends of the ball and hold up in pass protection.
Warren’s most intriguing trait, however, is what he can do with the ball in his hands. He is an extremely difficult man to bring down once he builds up speed, and the athletic ability Warren displayed as a ball-carrier led Penn State to use him in very specialized ways.
Indeed, Warren was regularly deployed as the wildcat quarterback by Penn State, who called running plays for him that often had very rewarding results owing to the speed that enabled him to get around the edge and the difficulty defenders had in bringing his substantial frame to the turf.
Of course, it would be unrealistic to expect the team that drafts Warren to simply line him up at wildcat quarterback consistently and have the same results on the ground that doing so often produced for Penn State. However, his skills as an open-field runner could play at least a small role in helping the 49ers fix one of their biggest issues from 2024.
Addressing a huge drop-off
In 2023, the 49ers were one of the premier short-yardage teams in the NFL, with 75 of their running plays called with between one and three yards to go resulting in a first down. In the 2024 season, that number dropped to 47, putting them 23rd in the NFL.
Fixing that issue is not simply a matter of dropping Warren into the offense and having him run wildcat plays, but having a tight end with that kind of running ability could make San Francisco a much more difficult team to defend in short yardage.
The 49ers have never been afraid to call fullback runs in short yardage and they have regularly been successful. With all due respect to Kyle Juszczyk, however, the threat of those runs would be greatly increased with Warren lined up as the fullback. Running him as a wildcat quarterback would be an option — albeit one that would telegraph the likely intentions of the play to a defense — while jet sweeps with Warren could also be potent short-yardage weapons.
Warren’s potential short-yardage impact goes beyond his strengths as a runner. Though the 49ers made a significant investment in a blocking tight end in Luke Farrell, Warren has enough prowess in that area to be relied upon to open holes for Christian McCaffrey and Co. in short-yardage situations in which the 49ers lean into heavy personnel looks.
Having George Kittle and Warren available to them would give the 49ers the option of going to 22 personnel in short yardage and still carrying five legitimate pass-catching weapons. In other words, a selection of Warren would ratchet up the 49ers’ unpredictability in those situations while also providing San Francisco with a reliable blocker who can excel in simply helping the offense run the ball down the throat of the defense.
The drop-off in short yardage effectiveness was a huge factor in the 49ers’ disappointing 2024 season. The backs and offensive line take a share of the blame for the decline, but a lack of reliable run-blocking tight ends outside of Kittle, who struggled blocking for gap scheme runs last season, has been a consistent problem.
San Francisco made a free-agent move to address that issue with the signing of Farrell, but drafting Warren would put them in an extremely strong spot at the position with the addition of a multi-faceted weapon who could bolster their short-yardage game with his play as a receiver, blocker and a runner.
It still seems more likely the 49ers will move to address a more significant need with the 11th pick. However, if they pull a shocker and pounce on a potential fall outside the top 10 for Warren, a bid to improve their short-yardage performance will likely have been a key reason why.