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Who Will be the 49ers' No. 2 Tight End in 2024?

It's hard to fathom how a team with such a good starting tight end could have such useless backups.

Grant Cohn

Dec 3, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans tight end Eric Saubert (81) runs with the ball after a reception as Denver Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper (0) and Denver Broncos linebacker Josey Jewell (47) attempt to make a tackle during the third quarter at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 3, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans tight end Eric Saubert (81) runs with the ball after a reception as Denver Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper (0) and Denver Broncos linebacker Josey Jewell (47) attempt to make a tackle during the third quarter at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
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The 49ers have been searching for a quality backup tight end since they drafted George Kittle in 2017.

It's hard to fathom how a team with such a good starting tight end could have such useless backups. You'd think they'd know how to scout the position. Maybe they just got lucky with Kittle. Because last year, they drafted tight end Cameron Latu, and he played zero snaps last season and might not make the team this year.

That's why the 49ers tried to sign Lions backup tight end Brock Wright, but he was a restricted free agent and Detroit matched the 49ers' offer. Then the 49ers signed veteran blocking tight end Eric Saubert. Two months later, they signed veteran receiver tight end Logan Thomas.

So who will be Kittle's primary backup?

Thomas probably is the favorite considering he started 15 games last season for the Commanders and caught 55 passes -- 10 fewer than Kittle. Meanwhile, Saubert caught just three passes.

But don't forget that the 49ers signed Saubert two months before the signed Thomas, plus they gave Saubert $100,000 more in guaranteed money than they gave Thomas. So maybe Saubert should be the favorite.

The 49ers' no. 2 tight end most likely will be a blocking specialist who can free up Kittle to run more routes and catch more passes. That's Saubert. He's the blocking specialist. Thomas is a former college quarterback who's a receiving specialist at this point in his career. He'll be a factor if Kittle gets injured and misses time.

But barring injury, Saubert should be the backup.

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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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