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Hutchinson: Assessing how 49ers will prioritize positions of need in 2023 Draft
“Charlie Woerner and Ross Dwelley have offered next to nothing. Tyler Kroft, who is a free agent, played over both of them down the stretch last year. That ended catastrophically.
Woerner has been the blocking tight end and Dwelley the receiving tight end. But neither are good enough at either of those two things to warrant being out on the field with any consistency.
They need a second tight end. George Kittle’s body takes a beating every season, and while he was healthy last year, saying it was the best he’d felt in a long time, they must improve there.
This is a deep tight end class. It’s crucial that the 49ers are proactive about adding somebody who could potentially back up Kittle and/or be on the field with him at the same time.”
“The 49ers don’t have a selection in the top 95 picks and have a great tight end in George Kittle, but a source with knowledge of the team’s plans say they have done more work on that position than any other team they’ve encountered. With needs on the offensive line and secondary, it would be a surprise early selection, but file this nugget away for early on Day 3 of the draft. Luke Schoonmaker (Michigan), Tucker Kraft (South Dakota) and Zack Kuntz (Old Dominion) are realistic options in the latter parts of Day 2 or early rounds on Day 3. In a historically great tight end class — I have eight players with starter grades — the 49ers could definitely find a running mate for Kittle.”
From the NCAA Tournament to the 49ers? Andre Kelly takes his shot at football (paywall)
“Kelly spent the three weeks since the conclusion of his basketball season doing intensive route running and lifting because he figured the 49ers’ pro day might feature bench-press testing and other strength components. But prospects only conducted on-field drills, so Kelly — who said he’d bulked up from 258 pounds to 267 pounds — wasn’t able to showcase that new muscle.”
“His best season came in Jacksonville in 2021 when he had 51 receptions for 434 yards and a touchdown. He aligned in the slot on 58 percent of his snaps with Seattle last season — catching just six passes for 42 yards — and could potentially offer a veteran slot option to compete with Jauan Jennings, similar to Trent Sherfield.”
Three offensive tackles 49ers could target in 2023 NFL Draft
“The knock on Steen by draft evaluators is his footwork, which can be developed over time by offensive line coach Chris Foerster. If The Alabama tackle’s lower body can sync up with the strength and power of his upper body, Steen could have a solid future in the NFL.”
Vernon Davis — now opposite Morgan Freeman — reprises role of muscle-bound baddie (paywall)
“Randoku is cold and menacing — a serial killer — and Davis decided he needed to tap into the character’s dark soul. He found plenty of material in his own youth. He said he used to watch his mother walk up and down the streets of Northwest Washington and would see boys — boys he knew — selling her crack cocaine and feeding her addiction. He was 12 years old at the time. He was embarrassed, angry and anguished for his mother. And he’d fantasize about avenging her.
“I remember the feelings I had,” he said. “So I had to reprogram myself and reattach those feelings to my character. You can imagine being a kid and the things that are running through your mind when you see that. Especially when you’re old enough, when you’re 12 or 13. It’s something that you don’t want to feel, right? The things that are running through your mind are like, ‘If I was old enough, I would do this.’ Or, ‘If I had powers, I would do that.’ So I attached all those thoughts and all those memories and that experience to be able to bring out a great performance in the character.”
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