Oklahoma’s final selection of the 2023 NFL Draft is last year’s captain and fan favorite, tight end Brayden Willis. Willis heads west to the Bay Area where he will look to secure a spot on one of the NFC’s best teams, the San Francisco 49ers.
San Francisco chose Willis with the 247th pick in the draft. He’ll begin his career as a corespecial teams player early on as he integrates into the offense and learns from one of the league’s best tight ends, George Kittle.
Coming Soon(er) to The Bay @Bwillis_11 x #49ersDraft pic.twitter.com/OUOQTq9DWr
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) April 29, 2023
San Francisco also represents a perfect scheme fit for what Willis does best.
He came back to school for the 2022 season to show he could be a meaningful target in the passing game. He led Oklahoma with seven touchdown receptions in 2022. However, his best skill on the field is as a blocker, where he shows excellent athleticism, effort, and power as he displaces defenders.
For a team like the 49ers who run the ball as frequently as they do, his blocking ability could help him see the field sooner than many may expect for a seventh round pick.
The journey to this moment was a long one for Willis, but each year as a Sooner, he continued to grow and attack every game with, max effort. From his early seasons where he played H-back filling in for various roles in Lincoln Riley’s offense to Willis’ ascension as a leader and a 2022 second-team All-Big 12 selection, Willis gave his all to the Oklahoma Sooners. His work paid off. Now he’s in the NFL, where he will get to join another Sooner and one of the NFL’s best players in Trent Williams.
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