Jordan Reed retires, 49ers likely to draft a tight end now

Veteran tight end Jordan Reed is retiring, per multiple reports, meaning the 49ers are almost guaranteed now to take a tight end in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Tight end Jordan Reed, who gave the NFL one last go in 2020 with the San Francisco 49ers, is retiring, according to various reports from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Reed, who spent his first six seasons with the Washington Football Team after being selected in Round 3 of the 2013 NFL Draft out of Florida, dealt with a slew of injuries over the course of his seven-year career. He missed all of 2019 before inking a one-year deal with the Niners to play again under head coach Kyle Shanahan, who was his offensive coordinator in Washington during his rookie season.

Those injuries, however, ultimately cut into Reed’s overall impact. And he considered retiring before signing with San Francisco, although the chance to play under Shanahan again was too enticing.

Reed, during his final year at the NFL level, finished 2020 with 26 catches for 231 yards and four touchdowns to cap off quite a remarkable career despite the setbacks:

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com
Generated 4/20/2021.

Entering 2017, Reed was ranked No. 65 on the list of the NFL’s top 100 players entering that season.

49ers almost assuredly taking a tight end in the NFL Draft now

This might have already been true before Reed’s retirement was announced. But with any prospects of Reed re-signing with the 49ers now a moot point, there’s an awfully large chance the Niners will target a tight end at some point in the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft.

San Francisco has been searching for a quality No. 2 option to support its All-Pro tight end, George Kittle, and Reed was part of last year’s attempt to do this alongside the 2020 draftee, Charlie Woerner.

With Woerner almost solely a blocking tight end and little more, Shanahan looking at more tight ends in the draft rises higher to the surface.

The No. 1 tight end in this year’s class is Florida’s Kyle Pitts, who is expected to go within the top 10 picks, perhaps even within the top five. True, the 49ers own the No. 3 overall pick in the draft. But with that selection expected to be used on a quarterback, and their second- and third-round picks probably being pegged for other more-pressing roster needs, it’s likely the Niners will consider day three for adding another tight end.

Perhaps in Round 5 when San Francisco originally found Kittle.