{"id":488699,"date":"2026-02-20T23:38:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T23:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/488699\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T23:38:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T23:38:11","slug":"4-tight-ends-the-49ers-should-avoid-in-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/488699\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Tight Ends the 49ers Should Avoid in Free Agency\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Adding an impactful tight end has been a move the San Francisco 49ers<\/a> have wanted for the last three years.<\/p>\n

And with George Kittle<\/a> on the mend from a torn Achilles, it makes adding a tight end somewhat of a pressing need<\/a>. If the 49ers dabble in free agency for one, they should avoid signing these four players.<\/p>\n

Darren Waller\"Darren<\/p>\n

Oct 12, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins tight end Darren Waller (83) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers during the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rich Storry-Imagn Images | Rich Storry-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

It was impressive to see Darren Waller make a comeback last season. He showed that he still has the talent to make an impact and be a thorn for opposing defenses.<\/p>\n

However, just like before he retired a couple of years ago, Waller proved he\u2019s injury-prone. The last thing the 49ers need is to have an injury-prone tight end back up Kittle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even if Waller wasn\u2019t injury-prone, he can\u2019t block. If there\u2019s one thing Kyle Shanahan never does is add tight ends to the team who cannot block. It doesn\u2019t matter how great they are as a pass catcher, no block, no rock.<\/p>\n

Zach Ertz\"Zach<\/p>\n

Dec 7, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Washington Commanders tight end Zach Ertz (86) makes a catch against the Minnesota Vikings during the second half at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s one thing the 49ers love, it\u2019s adding veterans to the team. I\u2019m sure Zach Ertz is a player that Shanahan holds in high regard. Add 35-year-old Ertz has proven he could still provide for an offense.<\/p>\n

As impressive as that may be, he is an old player. And he\u2019s not fast. The 49ers are supposed to improve their team by adding younger, faster, and more explosive players.<\/p>\n

Ertz may be able to help with a little bit of blocking and pass catching, but he would be more of a filler for the position than anything. It\u2019s best if the 49ers go with an unrecognizable name who is younger instead.<\/p>\n

Taysom Hill\"Taysom<\/p>\n

Dec 21, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New York Jets defensive tackle Khalen Saunders (99) attempts to tackle New Orleans Saints tight end Taysom Hill (7) during the second half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t believe the 49ers will pursue Taysom Hill, but I wouldn\u2019t fully rule it out either. He has versatility to him, which can entice Shanahan to want him in his offense.<\/p>\n

The thought of putting him in several different formations and positions to get a defense to open up could be enough for the 49ers to sign him. But they have to pass.<\/p>\n

I think he ends up signing with the Denver Broncos, but in case the 49ers are thinking about getting contention, they need to wake up and realize that\u2019s a bad move.<\/p>\n

David Njoku\"David<\/p>\n

Nov 30, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku (85) warms up before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images | Scott Galvin-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The best tight end in this list is David Njoku. He\u2019s a strong cat pass catcher and a sufficient run blocker. He has the physique to be a mismatch for defenses.<\/p>\n

Shanahan is sure to love that, especially alongside Kittle. However, Njoku is low-key injury-prone. These are the type of players they have to avoid.<\/p>\n

Plus, Njoku will probably have several teams competing for his services. Signing Njoku to anything more than $5 million per year would be an overspend. He\u2019d be a nice fit in the offense, but not worth the risk.<\/p>\n

Follow Jose on X (Twitter) @JS3sanchezz <\/a>to interact with him and subscribe to his YouTube Channel here<\/a> for more 49ers content.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Adding an impactful tight end has been a move the San Francisco 49ers have wanted for the last…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":488700,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,514,82],"class_list":["post-488699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=488699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/488700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=488699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=488699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=488699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}