Niner Noise
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San Francisco 49ers: Top 5 too-early roster predictions for 2019 rookies

By Jeremy Wohlfart

PALO ALTO, CA - NOVEMBER 25: Kaden Smith #82 of the Stanford Cardinal catches a touchdown pass while covered by Shaun Crawford #20 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Stanford Stadium on November 25, 2017 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
PALO ALTO, CA - NOVEMBER 25: Kaden Smith #82 of the Stanford Cardinal catches a touchdown pass while covered by Shaun Crawford #20 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Stanford Stadium on November 25, 2017 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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PALO ALTO, CA – NOVEMBER 25: Kaden Smith #82 of the Stanford Cardinal catches a touchdown pass while covered by Shaun Crawford #20 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Stanford Stadium on November 25, 2017 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
PALO ALTO, CA – NOVEMBER 25: Kaden Smith #82 of the Stanford Cardinal catches a touchdown pass while covered by Shaun Crawford #20 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Stanford Stadium on November 25, 2017 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

No. 4: Kaden Smith becomes the backup tight end

I wrote it before, but I am a big fan of Kaden Smith, a man I thought can be the best value pick of the entire draft crop this year.

Ranking him fourth in my list of rookies most likely to have an immediate impact, I said:

"This is a gut prediction, but I think Smith will possibly have a much better immediate impact on the 49ers offense than Hurd will. Smith can learn from Kittle, one of the best tight ends in the game despite similar beginnings as a pro, and get onto the field early. I think Smith should have gone as early as a late fourth-round pick, and I expect him to produce even if he won’t start."

The reason why is pretty simple. Smith has an underrated receiving and blocking skill set and can be a viable weapon in his own right without even considering the fact he’s understudy to George Kittle, one of the best tight ends in the NFL.

As our own Peter Panacy is fond of pointing out, current backup Garrett Celek had more penalties than receptions last season. He also pointed out the financial sense it might make to favor Smith above Celek:

"There’s the financial ramifications to consider, too. Celek is a scheduled to become a free agent in 2020. If the Niners let him go, they’ll save over $2 million in cap space with a dead-cap hit of just $625,000."

If Smith holds his out in the preseason games and performs better than Celek, pencil him in as the backup.