2023 NFL Draft: Still-available prospects 49ers desperately hope slip
By Peter Panacy
Tight End. 3. 878. Pick Analysis. Iowa. Sam LaPorta. player. Scouting Report
No. 3: 49ers can hope tight end Sam LaPorta continues to fall
Despite this year boasting arguably the deepest tight end class in recent memory, only one such player was selected in Round 1, Utah’s Dalton Kincaid by the Buffalo Bills at No. 25 overall.
That’ll create a push-back effect on the remaining tight end options, and it’s possible Iowa tight end Sam LaPorta ends up drifting back from the fringes of the first and second round (where he was prior to draft night) and deep into Round 2.
Perhaps even to Round 3.
Granted, the Niners already have an All-Pro tight end in George Kittle. Yet Kittle will be 30 years old this season, and San Francisco has long sought out a No. 2 tight end anyway.
As Niner Noise’s resident draft expert Jeremy Wohlfart pointed out, LaPorta might require a trade-up, which might be weird considering the 49ers’ other needs.
But, in terms of fully unlocking the offense, LaPorta would be worth it.