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Why the 49ers Want Brock Wright

The 49ers need a backup tight end who can stay in the backfield and help Colton McKivitz, who gave up more sacks than any other right tackle in the NFL last season.
Grant Cohn|
Nov 12, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Detroit Lions tight end Brock Wright (89) reacts after
Nov 12, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Detroit Lions tight end Brock Wright (89) reacts after | Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

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Detroit Lions

The 49ers could have re-signed backup tight end Charlie Woerner this offseason, but they didn't. Instead, he signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the Falcons, while the 49ers signed Detroit Lions backup tight end to a three-year, $12 million offer sheet which the Lions likely won't match.

Which means the 49ers likely wanted Wright more than they wanted Woerner.

Woerner was a good run blocker and a good special teamer for the 49ers the past four seasons -- that's why the Falcons signed him. He's an asset to any team that wants to run the ball.

Wright is a good run blocker too, but not as good as Woerner. So there's another reason the 49ers want Wright, and it has to do with what he can do for their passing game.

Wright has 43 catches and 7 touchdowns in his three-year career, so he's someone opposing defenses have to honor, especially in the red zone, as opposed to Woerner, who got three targets last season. In addition, Wright excels in pass protection, as opposed to Woerner, who essentially is a run-blocking specialist.

The 49ers need a backup tight end who can stay in the backfield and help Colton McKivitz, who gave up more sacks than any other right tackle in the NFL last season. They want to transition from an offense that leans on the running game to an offense that can pass first when necessary -- see the Super Bowl. And that's because they finally have a Pro Bowl quarterback in Brock Purdy. And so pass protection matters more than ever.

Smarting signing.

Published
Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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