Last week, the University of San Diego held their Pro Day, made particularly notable by the appearance of free agent quarterback Johnny Manziel. San Diego players invited him out to throw to them on the Pro Day, and that included a player the San Francisco 49ers might have some interest in.
NFL Draft analyst Tony Pauline reported last week that the 49ers were expected to head to San Diego to work out tight end Ross Dwelley this week. There has been no follow-up on that, but given that John Lynch is from San Diego and commutes down there when he is not in Santa Clara, maybe the head guy was on hand for the workout.
Dwelley measured in at 6’4 and a half and 241 pounds. He ran a 4.9 40, although Pauline claims the tight end, “players much faster than he times.” Make of that what you will, but he has scored ten touchdowns each of the last two seasons. This past year he had 50 receptions for 663 yards, and in 2016 he had 70 receptions for 843 yards.
The 49ers tight end depth chart currently includes George Kittle, Garrett Celek, Cole Hikutini, Cole Wick, and Malcolm Johnson. Kittle is a lock to make the roster, while Celek is no worse than strong bubble at this point. Cole Hikutini is likely to get a strong opportunity, but how the team approaches the draft at the tight end position could tell us a lot about how they view Hikutini, Wick, and Johnson’s roster chances.