49ers Unknown Sleeper Has Clear Path to 53-Man Roster

One of the most underrated options for the San Francisco 49ers to have a realistic path to the 53-man roster is tight end Hayden Rucci. The combination of the room being thin and him having a role on offense that the 49ers need could lead to him being an option to make the team

San Francisco 49ers Tight End Hayden Rucci Has Strong 53-Man Roster Chance

When looking at the 49ers roster, they have three players set to make the team at tight end. George Kittle is locked onto the roster along with his backup Jake Tonges and complementary blocking tight end Luke Farrell.

However, Kittle might miss the first couple of weeks of the regular season, and the team cannot just carry two tight ends into the regular season. So, one of Brayden Willis, Josiah Deguara, or Rucci will make the team.

Willis and Deguara are similar players in that they align all over the offense. In the 49ers preseason opener, Deguara played 10 snaps as an inline tight end out of 33 snaps on offense.

He played nine snaps as a fullback, 11 snaps in the slot, and three snaps out wide. Willis was used in the same way, with 14 of his 34 snaps being in-line.

He had 14 snaps in the slot, one out wide, and five in the backfield. These two are almost backups to Kyle Juszczyk based on the way they are used. Or, they are Kittle replacements. In that case, they are needed if Tonges gets banged up.

On the flip side, Rucci is a traditional tight end. He played 37 snaps on offense, and all 37 were as the in-line tight end. It is worth noting that while Willis started the preseason opener, Rucci came in for two tight end sets and complemented him in-line.

So, Rucci is the player to complement Tonges, or be the backup to Farrell. Considering Farrell was the weak spot last year, and they suffered in run blocking when Kittle was out, Rucci would be the player to fix that.

Rucci was a UDFA in 2024 and spent the past two years with the Miami Dolphins. So, it is not the same offense, but there are similar concepts that Rucci has run. The Dolphins called him up, and he played 39 snaps last year, so he has NFL experience. It would not be a surprise if Rucci ended up making a strong push to stick on the roster due to his role.

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