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Which Player Will be the Biggest Surprise on the 49ers 53-Man Roster?

Who will be the fourth tight end?

Grant Cohn

Aug 23, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end Jake Tonges (88) warms up before a game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 23, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end Jake Tonges (88) warms up before a game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
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The 49ers have to cut down their roster to 53 players by 1:00 p.m. this afternoon. Which player will be the biggest surprise to make the team?

It seems unlikely that an undrafted free agent rookie will make the team this season. Quarterback Tanner Mordecai, running back Cody Schrader and center Drake Nugent all have talent, but none of them are likely to make the 53-man roster right away. Expect them to land on the practice squad.

Most of the 49ers' position groups are essentially set in stone. They're an older, established team. But one position that is particularly murky is tight end.

The 49ers usually keep four tight ends on their roster. But this year, only two are locks to make it: George Kittle and Eric Saubert. Which means the 49ers most likely will have to keep two of Cam Latu, Brayden Willis and Jake Tonges.

Latu probably will make the team because he was a third-round pick last year, he can block on the line of scrimmage and he had eight catches in the preseason. He might have some potential.

So who will be the fourth tight end?

Usually, the 49ers' fourth tight end also is their backup fullback -- that was Ross Dwelley's role. Now he's gone. And it's clear the 49ers originally thought that 2023 seventh-round pick Brayden Willis would fill that role. But in the preseason, he struggled big time as a blocker and caught just five passes for 44 yards.

Meanwhile, Jake Tonges, who was an undrafted free agent in 2022, caught 9 passes for 63 yards in the preseason and also lined up at fullback sometimes.

I'm guessing Tonges will make the team over Willis and Willis will end up on the practice squad.

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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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