Stanford Draft Prospect Reportedly Meets with San Francisco 49ers

The NFL Draft process is off and running. Only a couple of weeks after Super Bowl LX, NFL personnel will gather in Indianapolis for the annual scouting combine, where draft hopefuls go through various drills in order to get evaluated by scouts, coaches and any other members of a franchise's personnel.

But arguably the most important part of the draft combine is pre-draft interviews, where teams get to know the prospects they're interested in a little better on a personal level.

For the Stanford Cardinal, their two combine representatives, Collin Wright and Sam Roush, are garnering a lot of interest from teams, with Roush specifically considered a top tight end prospect. With plenty of teams in need of a tight end, Roush has already taken multiple interviews before even taking the field for the combine, with his most notable meeting coming with the San Francisco 49ers.

While the 49ers already have star tight end and potential future Hall of Famer George Kittle already on the roster, with Kittle also signing a massive contract extension with the team just last offseason, he is also dealing with an achilles tear that he suffered in the playoffs, putting his availability for the 2026 season in question.

Entering his age-33 season and coming off of a catastrophic injury, there are now questions about just how dominant Kittle will be when he returns. If the 49ers are concerned about Kittle's injury status, drafting a new tight end that can take the reins when needed is something that the 49ers will almost certainly look into. And Roush would be a good fit in San Francisco, given his skillset.

The 49ers love having tight ends that can block well, with Kittle, Ross Dwelley and Charlie Woerner being just a few examples of tight ends that the 49ers have relied on when they need an extra blocker. Roush would also fit this mold.

But Roush is also a dominant pass catcher, finishing with a career-high of 49 catches for 545 yards and a pair of touchdowns for Stanford in 2025. If the 49ers were to draft Roush, he could slide right in and make up for Kittle's lost production.

In Roush's NFL.com prospect profile, he received a 6.23 prospect score, which has him in the category of being an average starter in the NFL. A top 10 tight end prospect, Roush is expected to be a day two or day three pick, with NFL.com's Lance Zierlein comparing him to Dawson Knox.

"In a draft landscape full of pass-catching tight ends, Roush stands out as one of the few plug-and-play “Y” tight ends (in-line blocking TE) available," Zierlein wrote on Roush. "He can make cut-off blocks in zone and combo blocks in gap schemes. He holds his own in pass protection, too. As a receiver, he’s not stiff, but he lacks elusiveness underneath.

"He needs to apply more of his tough playing style to win combat catches and expand his role beyond run blocker/zone beater. While his catch production might draw questions, his size, toughness and pro-ready blocking profile could push him into Day 2 consideration."

Roush proved that he has what it takes to play a big role in an offense, but the NFL is a different beast. It will be interesting to see if Roush can translate his college success to football's highest level.