4 dark-horse top targets for 49ers in 2022 NFL Draft
By Peter Panacy
Colorado State. player. 896. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. 2. Tight End. Trey McBride
49ers NFL Draft dark-horse No. 2: TE Trey McBride, Colorado State
If running back is a reach for the 49ers at No. 61 overall, then a tight end almost has to seem like a totally wasted pick, right?
Well, not exactly so fast.
The Niners have long sought after a complementary tight end to pair with All-Pro George Kittle, and they’re poised to lose their No. 2 tight end, Ross Dwelley, to free agency anyway. And Dwelley never truly emerged as that opposite threat regardless. And remember last year’s chatter about San Francisco possibly reaching on now-Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts?
Well, Colorado State tight end Trey McBride might fall in a similar context.
Granted, McBride is nowhere close to the kind of player Pitts was coming out of Florida. Yet McBride headlines a very deep class of talented tight ends, and the fact he’s coming off a 2021 season in which he was the Rams’ lone bona fide target and netted 1,121 receiving yards on 90 catches is nonetheless impressive.
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At 6-foot-4 and 246 pounds, McBride is a quality blocker and strong enough to generate yards after the catch even if he lacks top-end speed for his position.
Possibly the first tight end taken, McBride could certainly make the 49ers offense that much more prolific.