The 49ers' biggest strength heading into training camp

Last year, lots of people thought the 49ers had the best roster in the NFL even though they were coming off an overtime Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Now, the 49ers roster isn't nearly as loaded as it was, because they just gave Brock Purdy a five-year, $265 million contract extension. And yet, ESPN recently ranked the 49ers' roster 10th-best in the NFL. And its biggest strength according to ESPN's Mike Clay is their tight end position.

"I could've gone a few directions, but George Kittle gets the nod following yet another outstanding season," writes Clay. "Despite the 49ers' struggles and nearly three full missed games due to injury, Kittle finished top five among tight ends in yards and touchdowns for the third consecutive season (he has finished top 10 in yards seven years in a row). Kittle paced the position in yards per route run for the fifth time in seven seasons. He was also PFF's top-graded tight end in blocking. Luke Farrell and Ross Dwelley were signed as upgraded depth."

Kittle clearly is the best tight end in football, but the 49ers haven't ever had a quality backup behind him until now. Luke Farrell was their biggest free agent signing this offseason and he's an excellent blocker. He's also the 49ers' most important nonstarter to know, according to ESPN's Aaron Schatz.

"The 49ers gave him a three-year deal (even though he has never caught a touchdown pass), and he's going to play behind Kittle," writes Schatz. "It's all about the blocking, where Farrell excelled for the Jaguars in recent seasons. 'He could come in and he could block a 9-technique where George [Kittle] and Christian [McCaffrey] could both be on routes,' coach Kyle Shanahan told the press at OTAs. The 49ers used only two tight ends about 12% of the time last season, but that's going up in 2025."

TRANSLATION: Farrell will block defensive ends occasionally to help sell play-action passes. This is how Brock Purdy tore the UCL in his throwing elbow -- a backup tight end got beat one-on-one by a 9-technique edge rusher on a play-action pass. Farrell surely will do a better job in these situations, but no tight end has an advantage one-on-one against a defensive end.

Hopefully, Shanahan uses Farrell responsibly.