Analyzing why the San Francisco 49ers might be in the market for a tight end.
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00:00 Another takeaway from the press conference today.
00:03 Tight end position.
00:06 Half the questions are kind of just like, "Hey, what do you think of Alabama?"
00:11 "Hey, what do you think of Michigan?"
00:13 Not the most hard-hitting questions.
00:16 Some are like, "What's up with your defensive coordinator Brandon Aiyuk?"
00:19 There's one question like,
00:20 "What do you make of the tight end position and how important it is?"
00:26 And he went on this whole thing about how
00:28 when he was a player he felt they were under...
00:31 Tight ends and safeties, he was a safety, were really undervalued financially.
00:36 And that, you know, they're so integral in team success.
00:39 They're right in the middle of the field.
00:40 You can't avoid them, yada, yada, yada.
00:42 And then he went on, he was like, "Well, you know,
00:44 Green Bay last year drafted two tight ends.
00:47 And that really changed their team and added a lot to what they do.
00:51 And these days, man, you really, you can't just have one guy.
00:55 You gotta have two."
00:56 And then he was on a roll.
00:58 As he said that part, I don't know if you guys saw it,
01:00 it seemed like he almost was like, "Ooh, I shouldn't have said that."
01:05 And he tried quickly to change the subject to,
01:08 "Antonio Gay should be in the Hall of Fame,"
01:09 which is neither here nor there.
01:11 But yeah, coming back to that thing you said earlier,
01:13 that you try to bury,
01:15 "Teams should have two tight ends."
01:17 Yes, I agree, John.
01:19 Teams should have two really good tight ends.
01:21 And that's why the Niners drafted Cam Latsu last year,
01:24 because they realized they don't have two tight ends.
01:27 They have one.
01:27 And he's almost 31.
01:29 And he's been playing 90% of their snaps
01:33 for his whole career, and they need another guy.
01:36 "Don't believe me?" asked John Lynch.
01:38 "Gotta have two."
01:39 Cam Latsu, it was a big swing.
01:42 Probably a swing and a miss.
01:43 There were a lot of tight ends that went last year in the draft,
01:45 and they took a guy sort of at the end of the run, and we'll see.
01:49 But the one thing about the Niners we've seen is
01:50 they're not sentimental with their draft picks.
01:53 They will replace you immediately.
01:55 Look at the running backs.
01:56 They drafted Trey Sermon in round three.
01:58 Didn't go so well for him.
01:59 They came back the very next year,
02:01 drafted Ty Davis Price in round three.
02:03 Didn't go so well for him, and now they're both gone.
02:06 So if Lynch is serious about this,
02:10 and they're looking for a tight end,
02:11 I mean, they were last year,
02:11 and they didn't get anything from Cam Latsu.
02:13 Don't be surprised if they draft one in round two,
02:17 or round three this year.
02:19 And it doesn't matter that they took one last year.
02:21 That's another takeaway I got from this one.
02:24 Big needs for the 49ers, tight end.
02:28 They got nothing from Latsu.
02:30 Kyle Ustek's probably a year away from being cut.
02:33 And this is a team that doesn't want to be a one-back,
02:37 11-personnel offense.
02:39 They're a run-first team.
02:41 They want to have seven potential blockers in the formation.
02:46 They want to have the most intricate blocking schemes.
02:48 They don't want to vanilla themselves down with one-back,
02:52 one tight end, and a bunch of wide receivers.
02:54 It's not going to be who they are.
02:55 So will they find another fullback?
02:57 How do you find another fullback?
03:00 They're rare.
03:02 Colleges don't even play with fullbacks most of the time anymore.
03:05 Is Harvard producing any more?
03:06 And in case they're not, the Niners,
03:09 if they're going to replace Ushek one day,
03:11 may replace him with a tight end,
03:13 and move to more of a two-tight end offense,
03:15 which is similar.
03:17 Considering, really, how often is Ushek really playing fullback anyway?
03:21 A lot of times he's like an H-back,
03:25 detached from the formation, but more playing like tight end anyway.
03:29 So when you're watching the combine this weekend,
03:32 make sure you're looking closely at the tight end spot.
03:36 I know there's that guy Brock Bowers.
03:38 He's going to go in the first round.
03:39 They could take him. I don't expect they will.
03:41 But if there are guys that could go in round two,
03:43 that's the Kyles' day two.
03:46 Round two, round three, that's the Kyle Shanahan round.
03:49 The day where head coach who's been watching film for like two months
03:53 decides he has some draft crushes, and he insists on who they draft.
03:55 That's what I'm guessing.
03:58 Which tight end is Kyle Shanahan going to fall in love with this year?
04:02 You know, because George Kittle might have more than two catches for four yards
04:05 in the Super Bowl if they make it back next year,
04:07 if they don't have to like, wear him down
04:11 September, October, November.
04:13 Isn't he a little bit old for that?
04:15 I think he's a little bit old for that.
04:17 George Kittle's a tremendous weapon,
04:19 but he's almost always a little hurt, a little worn down.
04:23 And that's not really his fault.
04:25 The Niners have failed forever at getting a quality backup for him.
04:31 No offense to Ross Dwelley, who I think is just swell,
04:33 but they don't use him.
04:34 Charlie Warner isn't a factor.
04:36 Cam Lottu couldn't catch the ball.
04:40 Tight end is a big position for this team.
04:43 I could see them going D-line, linebacker, tight end with their first three picks.
04:50 Yeah, I said it.
04:53 What do you guys think?
04:54 [MUSIC]
04:57 (upbeat music)