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The San Francisco 49ers endured a traumatic 6-11 season a year ago, and that's a far cry from the team that represented the NFC in the Super Bowl in 2023. With a strong desire to return to the top of the NFC West and a team that has strong hope for a long run in the postseason, the Niners are all business in training camp. They are not wasting time with players who are considered marginal and they waived veteran tight end Ross Dwelley.
Dwelley was a seven-year NFL veteran, spending his first six years with the Niners before moving on to the Falcons. He came back to the Niners in the offseason, but he has never been a significant contributor on the offensive end. He was regularly a special teams player throughout his career.
Dwelley caught 45 passes for 523 yards and 5 touchdowns throughout his career. His most productive season came in 2020 when he caught 19-245-1. He did not catch more than five passes in any of his last four seasons.
Kittle is the Niners' most productive receiver
Tight end is clearly a very important position to the 49ers, and they have a star in George Kittle at the position. The Niners picked up Luke Farrell from the Jacksonville Jaguars in the offseason. He is the team's No. 2 tight end and his greatest asset is his blocking ability.
When it comes to making big play, quarterback Brock Purdy is going to look towards Kittle more often than any other receiver. Kittle caught a team-leading 78 passes for 1,106 yards and 8 touchdowns a year ago, and he has excellent hands and the ability to get open in clutch situations.
The Niners are hoping that wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk can return to full health this season after his right knee reconstruction. He played just seven games last year, but the Niners are hoping he can show off his big-play ability this season. He had his best season in 2023 when he caught 105-1,342-7.
The key to the Niners offense may be running back Christian McCaffrey, who battled Achilles tendinitis and a posterior cruciate ligament injury last season. If he is healthy this season, he could return to form as one of the three best running backs in the NFL.
A healthy McCaffrey will take significant pressure off of quarterback Brock Purdy. The Niners committed themselves to Purdy when they gave him a five-year, $265 million contract. That's an incredible payday for a quarterback who was selected in the 7th round of the 2022 draft.
Purdy completed 300 of 455 passes for 3,864 yards last season with a 20-12 TD-interception ratio. The Niners are hoping that he can improve the latter figure in the upcoming season.
