2025 Draft: Tight Ends
Part V of our draft preview series looks at tight ends–the somewhat luxury item that could open up a new dimension to our offense. Per usual, any number before a player dictates their “consensus big board” ranking. Asterisks (*) by names mark some of my favorite prospect/scheme fits.
If this wasn’t one of the better tight end classes in recent memory, I likely wouldn’t have given them their own draft write-up. We’ve got two on roster who we’re clearly committed to, plus a fullback who does half of our tight end duties. But this is a deep class, particularly when it comes to matchup weapons in the passing game, and given our affinity for the position, Kittle and Juice’s ages, and the fact that you should usually tap the deepest position groups of any class, here we are.
I do think the Niners have been trying to implement more 12 personnel for quite a few years now. So while the addition of Farrell and the re-signing of Juice will make the snap counts complicated, I don’t think it will preclude us from picking a tight end who we have aspirations of playing sooner rather than later.
THE SKILLSET
We’re really only interested in two-way players–guys who can catch and block. They don’t necessarily have to be in-line players, but if they’re not, they have to be able to handle fullback duties because we don’t have a “tight end who mostly just plays in the slot” position in our offense. That means the versatility to play some snaps in the backfield and at wingback and pulling off complicated edge blocking assignments on the move. Those assignments aren’t easy, but they do allow a place for prospects who are more positional blockers than road graders in the run game.
In the passing game, we want guys who have the athleticism to get open and the wiggle/power in the open space to get YAC yards. Even though neither of these guys panned out, Jalen Hurd and Cam Latu were both of that mold. Given the huge amount of man coverage we saw last year, I’d assume anyone we pick in the first half of the draft would be expected to be able to beat press man—but that’s always a complicated eval (and a rare trait) for a young tight end.
THE NEED
For next season? Debatable. But Kittle and Juice are both over 30, and the latter was temporarily cut this off-season. This gives us the flexibility to draft someone who’s a bit more of a project later in the draft and let them season for a bit.
FIRST ROUND
5. Tyler Warren, Penn State
10. Colston Loveland, Michigan
SECOND ROUND
39. Mason Taylor, LSU
6-5, 251 lbs.
Ascending athlete who can be a three-level threat with further development
For quite a while, there’s been debate over who would claim the TE3 spot in this loaded class. After an impressive pre-draft run that included a 4.65 forty, Taylor–the son of Hall of Fame defensive end Jason Taylor–has likely secured that position. A smooth mover with excellent hands, the ability to make leaping grabs down the field, natural YAC skills, and a knack for finding openings in zone coverage, Taylor is an ascending talent who is still working on the finer points of his game. He needs to add strength, work on his blocking, and show the burst and tempo change in his route running proficiency to beat man coverage with regularity. There’s no reason he won’t get there (although he probably will never be a mauler in the run game), but there’s still projection involved.
45. TE, Elijah Arroyo, Miami
6-5, 250 lbs.
Big and athletic vertical threat with potentially creaky knees
An excellent athlete and savvy route-runner with a massive wingspan, Arroyo lines up and plays the game more like a jumbo wideout than a tight end–averaging nearly 17ypc and totaling 7 touchdowns as a senior. The majority of his receiver impact is while he’s split out into the slot, where he uses his great size and receiver-like ability down the field to threaten seams and create mismatches. In the run game, he’s not going to be crushing dudes on downblocks, but he seems like a willing blocker who can eventually be effective on the combo edge blocks our wide zone game requires. But the biggest question in Arroyo’s eval is his medicals. He’s only had one year of big production, mainly because his 2022 and 2023 seasons were cut short by season-ending knee injuries. Considering a bruise to his knee has prevented him from testing for scouts this off-season, his knee health is certain to be at the forefront of any scouting report.
THIRD ROUND
85. Terrance Ferguson, Oregon
6-5, 247 lbs.
Physical, two-way tight end with decent ceiling and surprising open-field ability
Despite starting 37 games over four years, Ferguson never became a focal part of the Oregon offense, doing a lot of his damage on leakouts, screens, and bootlegs. But he’s a good athlete and a natural pass catcher with strong open field running skills who is physical both as a blocker and as a runner. An efficient athlete, Ferguson doesn’t have great burst or tempo as a route runner and is smoother than he is sudden, but he doesn’t waste a lot of movement. He’s kind of a one-speed runner, and while that speed is pretty solid, the total athletic package brings about questions of whether he can get himself open versus man. Overall, he’s a well-rounded tight end who looks like an eventual NFL starter. His upside isn’t as high as some of his peers but his ability to actually block in-line certainly raises his floor.
*93. Harold Fannin Jr., Bowling Green
6-3, 241 lbs.
Versatile but funky athlete who put up ridonkulous college numbers
A truly unique (and polarizing) prospect, Fannin put up genuinely psychotic numbers in 2024, totalling 117 grabs, 1,555 yards, and 10 TDs—numbers that are all the more impressive considering he’s still quite raw as a route runner and is only 20 years old. Best described as awkwardly athletic, Fannin shows good burst and linear explosiveness but has an odd, almost duck-like gait that results in some stiffness in his lower body. This may cut down on his route tree a bit, but it hasn’t hindered his ability to get open, win at the catch point (he has great hands), and generate more yards than he should after the catch. As a guy who seems a little too small for full-time in-line work, you really wish he’d run faster during testing (4.71 forty), but his speed certainly wasn’t an issue while popping off against Penn State (11 receptions, 137 yards, TD) and Texas A&M (8 receptions, 145 yards, TD). I don’t know if he’ll ever be a true in-line tight end, but he lined up all over the place at Bowling Green, and—as a Juice successor and move tight end—the intrigue is undeniable.
DAY 3
IN-LINE AMBITIONS: Genuine two-way threats who can block from an in-line position. Given it’s day 3, these guys will typically have ceilings closer to TE2.
The Longhorns’ super-consistent safety blanket on an offense full of speedsters, Gunnar Helm (Texas) is not a sudden or fast (4.84 forty) athlete, but he’s efficient in his movements, a good route runner and blocker, and understands how to get open, get the ball, and get way more YAC than he should given his limited athleticism. Helm draws Jake Ferguson/Dalton Schultz comps because of how he exceeds his athleticism, but those speed and burst concerns—especially at his size (6-5, 241 lbs.)—are worrisome. 40-yard dashes are typically pretty telling in TE success rates, and Pat Freiermuth is the only starting tight end in the league who ran a slower one. But as a TE2? Helm seems destined for a lengthy career. (3rd-4th)
In a world of smaller tight ends, Moliki Matavao (UCLA) uses his size and bulk (6-6, 260 lbs.) to win big at the catch point and move bodies in the run game. While he’s got good short-area athleticism and natural hands, his lack of speed caps his ceiling as a receiver, so he’ll need to clean up his technique in the running game to carve out a role as a mauler with underneath/redzone ability. (5th)
Far from the sexiest of prospects, CJ Dippre (Alabama) is solid as a blocker and solid as a receiver but thoroughly unspectacular at either. His special teams experience gives him immediate value, and his testing points to some upside on the receiving end (even if he tested more athletic than he probably actually is), but Dippre feels more like a safe TE2 play than anything else. (5th-6th)
One of the Cardinal’s top receiving threats before transferring to Athens and filling more of a run-blocking specialist role, *Benjamin Yurosek (Georgia) seems primed for sleeper value as the rare late-round guy who has proven he can do both duties well still sporting an impressive athletic profile (4.64 forty, 1.58 10-yard split). I’ve seen him rated as high as the fourth and as low as undrafted, but if he’s more towards the latter, he could be a great value add. (6th)
JUICY HYBRIDS: More move tight ends or h-backs, these guys often lack the size and heft of in-line tight ends but could become mismatch weapons as Juice successors.
Tall and long with good athleticism, Oronde Gadsden II (Syracuse) is a converted WR who looks and plays like one. He needs to continue adding bulk and polish to his routes—which are a bit too backyard football freelance-y at the moment—but the receiving ability and athletic skills are there for a move tight end/h-back in our scheme. (4th)
A tall and lean mismatch threat (6-6, 241 lbs.) who is more big wideout than tight end, Jake Briningstool (Clemson) is a major seam stretcher and redzone threat but lacks the heft and physicality for full-time in-line work. He’s really not the ideal build for true fullback work, but—if he can get there as a blocker—it’ll be as a move tight end, in the wing, and out of the slot. (5th)
A former basketball player who plays like it with his length and box-out ability at the catch point, *Jalin Conyers (Texas Tech) is an intriguing athlete with good burst, great fluidity (6.94 three-cone), and enough YAC ability that he played some wildcat while at ASU. He’s used to lining up in-line, out into the slot, or in the wing, making him quite the intriguing offensive weapon, but little about his game is fine-tuned and game ready for legitimate snaps. But with effort and attention to detail, the long-term developmental upside is quite intriguing. (6th)
A productive hybrid weapon with impressive athleticism, route running, and the versatility to create mismatches all over the field, Brant Kuithe (Utah) lacks in-line size (6-2, 236 lbs.) but has the receiving chops, YAC ability, and good-enough blocking to be a worthy Juice successor… if he can stay healthy. A 25-year-old seventh-year senior, Kuithe tore his ACL back in 2022, missed the entirety of 2023 after undergoing multiple surgeries, then—after 9 games this year—suffered yet another season-ending leg injury. The potential is tremendous. So are the medical hurdles. (UDFA)
BLIND GUESS
The value versus need debate will be fascinating here. The Niners love (perhaps too much) picking offensive skill guys in the first two days of the draft, and this tight end class is ripe with high-upside, NFL-ready prospects. But while adding the next Kittle or Juice to jumpstart our 12 personnel aspirations is intriguing, we have three desperate needs (DT, DE, LB) that we feel highly likely to address in the first two days. So, unless we add more picks via trade, adding a tight end who can contribute immediately might require our last open “slot” in the first two days.
The argument against taking a tight end early is easy. You typically want to spend your premium picks on premium positions. The Eagles are a perfect example. Despite their loaded roster, they’re actually quite bad at late-round picks. Of the 26 day 3 picks since Roseman regained GM duties back in 2019, the Eagles’ biggest contributor is probably… Kenneth Gainwell (5th, 2021)? Quez Watkins (6th, 2020)? That’s shockingly bad. But the roster is still loaded because Roseman is borderline religious about spending his highest valued picks on the league’s highest valued positions. Since 2019, the Eagles have had 19 picks in the first three rounds, and they’ve spent 16 of them on one of the league’s most costly positions (QB, OL, DL, CB, WR). And that doesn’t include the first-round pick they shipped out for AJ Brown. They’ve had a great hit rate on those picks of late (and a lot of them), and have supplemented holes with low-cost free agents, but their commitment to positional value in the early rounds is a smart and conservative way to stockpile value and raise the floor of their drafts.
The argument in favor of drafting a tight end early is a bit more academic. How much better and (importantly) unique can Shanahan make our offense with another legitimate high-snaps receiving threat at tight end? How much can double-tight formations boost our running game and help our wobbly tackle depth while avoiding reaching on a tackle in an overall underwhelming class? And, of course, how truly unique and high-level are the tight ends in our crosshairs? Positional value be damned, everyone is taking an elite tight end over an average tackle. But if you’re betting against positional value—and, in our case, a more pressing need—you’d better be sure in your evaluation.
This feels like a position we’re heavily intrigued by, but not desperate for. So if we don’t add a guy in the first three rounds who we plan to play early—likely as a move tight end similar to Jordan Reed back in the day—we could easily bypass the position or wait until the last few rounds to add depth.
Go Niners 🏈👍