A former 7th-round pick could become a surprise receiving threat for the 49ers

The 2023 NFL draft hasn't borne much fruit for the San Francisco 49ers, but one seventh-round pick may be able to change that.

Tight end Brayden Willis has seen limited action in his first two seasons, and the additions of TEs Luke Farrell and Ross Dwelley this offseason didn't bode well for his chances to make a bigger impact in his third season. When the 49ers selected Willis with the 247th overall pick there appeared to be some upside with him as a receiver that hasn't developed in the NFL. He caught 39 passes for 514 yards and seven touchdowns during his final season at Oklahoma.

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Since joining the NFL he's played only 73 offensive snaps in 17 games. As a pass catcher he's earned just two targets and doesn't have a reception. His path to more playing time starts with improving as a blocker, but making noise as a receiver could also earn him some additional snaps. He did just that in the team's third training camp practice.

ESPN's Nick Wagoner included Willis's four-reception day as part of his practice recap on Twitter:

A nice day for TE Brayden Willis, who hasn't established himself as much of a pass catching threat in the past couple of seasons. He had four receptions on the day and each of them would have gone for a decent gain. He even did a nice toe tap along the sidelines for a catch from Mordecai.

Getting more receiving help from the TE group behind George Kittle would be a nice way to add a surprise wrinkle to the 49ers' offense. Farrell is primarily a blocker who was brought in to pass block while Kittle runs routes in multiple TE sets. Dwelley has also been a block-first player since originally joining the 49ers as an undrafted rookie in 2018. That duo has a combined 81 catches in 167 career games.

It will take more than one unpadded practice for Willis to really make waves and move up the depth chart, but Friday was a good start toward the 49ers finding some pass catching help in an unlikely place.