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San Francisco 49ers: Projecting 2017 Starting Lineup after First Wave of NFL Free Agency

By Peter Panacy

Aug 20, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; A general view of the San Francisco 49ers helmet before game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The 49ers beat the Broncos 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Troy Babbitt-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 20, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; A general view of the San Francisco 49ers helmet before game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The 49ers beat the Broncos 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Troy Babbitt-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 12, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end Vance McDonald (89) scores a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams in the fourth quarter at Levi’s Stadium. The 49ers won 28-0. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 12, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end Vance McDonald (89) scores a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams in the fourth quarter at Levi’s Stadium. The 49ers won 28-0. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports /

Tight End

Vance McDonald, Logan Paulsen, Garrett Celek

Technically we’re not going with a depth chart on each slide, but the tight end position is fairly easy to break down after the 49ers added former Washington Redskins and Chicago Bears TE Logan Paulsen via free agency.

Paulsen, who worked under Kyle Shanahan in Washington, is one of the better blocking tight ends in the NFL. His 75.2 pass-blocking grade last year, per Pro Football Focus, ranked seventh in the NFL.

While we should expect most of the pass catching to go to No. 1 tight end Vance McDonald, we can’t overlook the fact Paulsen was involved in the receiving game during his tenure under Shanahan with the Redskins:

Receiving & Rushing Table
Games Receiving
Year Age Tm Pos No. G GS Tgt Rec Yds Y/R TD Lng R/G Y/G Ctch%
2010 23 WAS 82 11 0 2 2 10 5.0 1 9 0.2 0.9 100.0%
2011 24 WAS te 82 16 6 19 11 138 12.5 0 24 0.7 8.6 57.9%
2012 25 WAS TE 82 16 10 38 25 308 12.3 1 31 1.6 19.3 65.8%
2013 26 WAS TE 82 16 14 50 28 267 9.5 3 33 1.8 16.7 56.0%
2014 27 WAS TE/wr 82 16 12 16 13 78 6.0 1 16 0.8 4.9 81.3%
2016 29 CHI TE 82 16 12 10 3 15 5.0 0 7 0.2 0.9 30.0%
Career 91 54 135 82 816 10.0 6 33 0.9 9.0
5 yrs WAS 75 42 125 79 801 10.1 6 33 1.1 10.7
1 yr CHI 16 12 10 3 15 5.0 0 7 0.2 0.9

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/10/2017.

So maybe the 49ers wind up with two pass-catching threats in both McDonald and Paulsen.

Fellow TE Garrett Celek is a No. 3 option, and we shouldn’t expect Blake Bell to make the 53-man roster.