
Now that the San Francisco 49ers have signed their free agents and drafted their rookies, it is a good time to look back at the depth chart of each position and see where the team stacks up across the board. What does the tight end room look like entering the summer months?
The big question with Kittle is how soon he can get on the field after he suffered an Achilles injury. He plays a reckless style; he has not had a lot of injuries, but after an injury-filled 2025 season, there are concerns about his long-term durability.
Tonges filled in for Kittle when he went down last season. He was able to replace a lot of the receiving production that was missed. The biggest difference is that Tonges is not nearly the same level of blocker, and the rushing success of the team came and went as Kittle played.
The team signed Farrell to a two-year contract last offseason. For one year, he has been a massive disappointment. He was supposed to be the one who picked up the slack in the blocking game, not only when Kittle went down, but in a way that would get Kittle out in space as a pass catcher more often. However, he failed to do both, and the rushing attack was not very strong this season.
Willis has been with the 49ers since 2023. He has bounced from the practice squad to the active roster and back to the practice squad. Once again this season, he is likely to sit right in the 50-60 range in terms of his status on the 53-man roster.
Dinkins has a legitimate chance to make the roster. The UDFA from Penn State was known as one of the better blocking tight ends in the draft. He just brought so little to the table as a pass catcher that he was not draftable. Still, the 49ers biggest need is a blocker, and Dinkins just has to beat out Luke Farrell for the role.
Rucci is a 2024 UDFA who has spent most of the past two seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He comes in with experience in a familiar offense, but even then, he was mostly a practice squad option, and that should be the case in San Francisco.
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