The San Francisco 49ers placed safety Talanoa Hufanga on injured reserve on Wednesday after he tore ligaments in his wrist in the Week 5 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
That move in isolation was not a surprise. The curious part of the decision was the player the 49ers elected to promote to the active roster to take his place.
Rather than promoting safety Jaylen Mahoney or an interior defensive lineman to address the fact San Francisco is extremely thin in the trenches, the 49ers promoted tight end Brayden Willis to the 53-man roster.
San Francisco already has three tight ends on the roster and only two, George Kittle and Eric Saubert, saw snaps in the 49ers' loss to the Cardinals.
Kittle has been dealing with a rib issue , but could Willis' promotion give a clue to the 49ers' gameplan against the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football?
San Francisco has run the ball on 47.7 percent of its offensive plays so far in 2024. That is only the 11th-highest rate in the NFL, an oddly low ranking for the 49ers, who have leaned heavily on the dropback passing game with Brock Purdy across their first five games.
The 49ers rely predominantly on 11 and 21 personnel, but they have been extremely effective running the ball out of 12 personnel with two tight ends on the field, despite doing so rarely.
Only 22 of the 49ers' 212 offensive plays this season have come out of 12 personnel, per Sumer Sports. That low number is related to the depth of talent the 49ers have at wide receiver and the value fullback Kyle Juszczyk brings to the roster with his versatility in the blocking game and the receiving game.
However, they rank third in Expected Points Added per rush when running the ball out of that personnel package.
Going against a Seahawks defense that ranks 27th in success rate against the run over the last two games, there's an argument that Willis' promotion hints at the 49ers using two tight ends more often in this game and in the weeks to come, which would create a potential need for four tight ends on the roster.
An alternative and simpler explanation would be that Willis offers value on special teams having played 58 percent of the snaps in that area last season. Given San Francisco's struggles on special teams, the 49ers promoting Willis for that reason would make a lot of sense. However, if nothing else, the 49ers now have more resources to go with an increased amount of 12 personnel now they have four tight ends on the roster.
Related: Good news on 49ers' final injury report for Week 6 game with Seahawks marred by two huge defensive concerns
Local News
Comments / 0