General manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan identified a relatively unknown tight end leading to their first draft with the San Francisco 49ers. This Iowa tight end, who caught 48 receptions for 737 yards with 10 touchdowns throughout his four-year collegiate career, had the two eager to see how they could utilize the player within Shanahan's offense.
He ended up setting a new NFL record for single-season receiving yards by a tight end in 2018, has been named to two Pro Bowls, is a first-team All-Pro, and has back-to-back seasons of 1,000-or-more receiving yards. And he's only been in the league for three years.
Of course, you know who that tight end is. It's George Kittle, arguably the best in the game at his position. So when the 49ers drafted another tight end — Charlie Woerner of Georgia — with paltry college statistics this year, one has to wonder if Lynch and Shanahan saw something that others missed.
"He didn't catch a ton of balls down at Georgia," Lynch told team reporter Keiana Martin on Saturday. "They were very talented at wide receiver, and I think that's the reason why."
Woerner caught just 34 passes for 376 receiving yards and a touchdown. That was throughout his four years with the Bulldogs, not just in 2019. He hauled in only nine receptions for 78 yards and his lone collegiate score during his senior year.
"That's why you get out and go down to even smaller all-star games, like the NFLPA Bowl down (at the Rose Bowl) in Pasadena," Lynch continued. "The day we were there — I think he caught 15 balls all year in Georgia (it was nine) — he caught like 15 in practice that day. So you want a guy, obviously, in this offense, and any offense, that can do a multitude of things. And what we saw that day is maybe Charlie is a little better than the numbers might speak to. Given the opportunity, we believe he can ascend there.
"This is a very tight-end-friendly offense. I think everyone sees that. And tight ends are excited to play with us. We feel really good about Charlie's ability to block, but also, we think he might surprise some people with his ability to contribute in the passing game. We were very excited when he was there, and Charlie was really needed for us, too."
Woerner's run-blocking grade of 82.9 from Pro Football Focus ranks first among 85 draft-eligible tight ends with 200 or more run-blocking snaps.
"I kind of see myself as a do-it-all guy," Woerner said on a video conference call on Saturday. "A guy who can do anything and really just going to do what the team asks me to do. That's what I did at Georgia, and I'll do whatever it takes to win a ball game. I'm excited to go to the 49ers and win some ball games."