49ers 2020 ‘Who is?’ series: Ross Dwelley in for a bigger role

It’s looking more and more like 49ers No. 2 tight end Ross Dwelley will command more attention in 2021, especially to safeguard George Kittle.

Perhaps 2021 will be the year San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan realizes the No. 2 tight end he’s needed to support the All-Pro, George Kittle, has been right there all along.

Third-year pro Ross Dwelley.

Over the past two-plus years, Shanahan has been trying to land and develop a quality second-tier tight end to help take pressure off Kittle. A year ago, now-retired tight end Jordan Reed was the offseason pickup, as was late-round NFL Draft addition Charlie Woerner.

But Dwelley, who already filled in admirably for Kittle in 2018 when the latter was out with injury, took a next-level step in the wake of more injuries to Kittle and Reed.

And while the Niners made more tight end transactions this offseason, there doesn’t appear to be a player threatening Dwelley for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart behind Kittle.

It appears as if Dwelley is relishing this opportunity, certainly according to his No. 1 fan, Sports Illustrated’s Grant Cohn, who wrote the following after San Francisco’s first week of OTA practices:

"Caught one pass from [Jimmy] Garoppolo, but that’s not the story. The thing to know about Dwelley is that he looks much stronger than last season. He looks buff. I’m guessing he put on five to 10 pounds of muscle."

At 26 years old, the former undrafted free-agent addition out of San Diego could back up what was already a career-best year in 2020.

He has the chance, so let’s take a look at why it could possibly happen this year.

Why Ross Dwelley improves with 49ers in 2021

He might not be fast or generate the yards after the catch as someone like Kittle. But Dwelley has already shown a knack for coming up with big plays with they matter most.

It sure seemed like all 15 of Dwelley’s catches in 2019 were of the crucial variety, and he had even more clutch moments last season, too:

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com
Generated 6/14/2021.

Injuries were the primary reason why Dwelley rose to the spotlight a year ago, namely with Kittle being out eight games and Reed also missing significant time.

And while no one would be jumping up and down about 245 receiving yards and a touchdown in a single season, the fact Reed is no longer in the picture should open up additional chances for Dwelley to make an impact as a solid complementary piece to Kittle this season.

So should some more consistent quarterback, namely with Garoppolo back under center and the 49ers (hopefully) not having to rely on three different starters as they did in 2020.

Why Ross Dwelley regresses with 49ers in 2021

Dwelley, 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, sort of falls into that category of being good at a lot of different things but not necessarily great at any single one of them.

As noted earlier, Dwelley isn’t going to wow with yards after the catch. Of his 350 receiving yards, only 148 of them came after the catch. Sure, he showed an increase in averaging yards after the catch — 5.6 in 2020 compared to only 2.7 the year before — but he lacks the speed and elusiveness to suggest this will ever become a strength.

On top of that, the fact Dwelley has made a name for himself the past two years has only come in the wake of Kittle being out of the lineup.

If Kittle stays healthy for all of 2021, one might expect Dwelley’s numbers to take a turn in the opposite direction from where they trended last year.

Expectations, role for Ross Dwelley in 2021

The Niners added two more tight ends during the offseason, MyCole Pruitt and another UDFA, Josh Pederson, although neither figures to challenge Dwelley for a roster spot. Instead, those two will likely compete with Woerner for the No. 3 spot on the depth chart.

Instead, Dwelley is likely to assume a key backup job behind Kittle on the 53-man roster, which is fine. In 2019, Dwelley acted as an emergency fullback, too, supporting the perennial Pro Bowler Kyle Juszczyk when the latter was out four games with an injury.

It’s good to know Dwelley can do this, although he’s a notable downgrade from Juszczyk. And despite Dwelley’s knack for big-time catches the last two years, it’s easy to say San Francisco would much prefer to field Kittle than it would Dwelley.

Related Story: George Kittle injury history, outlook for 2021

Yet Kittle’s injury history and concerns for 2021 make a player like Dwelley valuable to the 49ers’ immediate plans. While Dwelley is nowhere close to being a top-performing backup capable of relieving Kittle at a high level, at least there’s some comfort knowing the former is adept enough to plug a gap for a game or two.

That trait, along with any other stats Dwelley provides over the course of the upcoming season, makes him an easy-to-root-for under-the-radar player on the Niners roster heading into 2021.