With the NFL Draft set to begin on April 27, teams’ final talks with prospects are intensifying, including for the San Francisco 49ers, who have talked to a big (literally) slot receiver.
The 49ers are showing “heavy” interest in 6-foot-3, 235-pound Elijah Higgins of Stanford, according to an April 26 tweet from Aaron Wilson of NBC 2 in Houston. Wilson wrote that the Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans and Miami Dolphins also have similarly strong interest and that Higgins had visited the Dolphins.
In his tweet, Wilson suggested Higgins had potential as a tight end in the NFL given his physical stature. News4Jax’s Jamal St. Cyr went a step further in an April 25 story, saying Higgins will be drafted in the sixth round as a tight end.
“He made the switch some at the Senior Bowl in Mobile this year,” St. Cyr wrote. “As with any position switch, there will be growing pains. This is a developmental swing. If Higgins transitions he has the tools to be a pass-catching mismatch at tight end eventually.”
Elijah Higgins Is a Likely Late-Round Pick
The 49ers have three picks in the fifth round, which is where both NFL.com and Pro Football Network projected that Higgins would be drafted.
San Francisco is projected by NBC Sports Bay Area’s Mike Maiocco to address the tight end position with one of their three third-round picks, suggesting the Niners will need a backup to George Kittle, who will turn 30 in October and asserting that this is “a strong year for tight ends chosen in the middle portion of the draft.” Maiocco wrote that the 49ers could target Luke Schoonmaker, a 6-foot-5, 251-pound tight end from Michigan.
There is precedent with the 49ers succeeding in finding late-round talent at tight end. They drafted Kittle in the fifth round (146th overall) in 2017, and he developed in a four-time Pro Bowl player. Kittle is just an inch taller and about 10 pounds heavier.
Stanford took advantage of Higgins’ size as a wide receiver in its slow-mesh offensive approach, and now his size could facilitate a shift as he enters the NFL.
“Big slot receiver with potential to become a pass-catching tight end,” Zierlein wrote. “While teams might see him as a big possession receiver with limitations, he appears to have the necessary tools to become a dynamic F tight end with the ability to work all three levels of the field
Stanford’s hybrid WR/TE Elijah Higgins worked the seam route well in that offense. He has good speed to win vertically in the MoF without resistance. #2023NFLDraft
6’3 235 lbs
4.54 forty
35 inch VJ
One More TE Spoke With the 49ers Ahead of the Draft
Higgins isn’t the only name to surface as a pre-draft visit with the 49ers.
Also via Wilson on April 26, University of Alabama tight end Cameron Latu was another visitor before the 49ers make their official selections.
Alabama @AlabamaFTBL tight end Cameron Latu (6-4 3/8, 244, 4.73 speed, set Crimson Tide single-season tight end record w/ eight touchdowns 2021, 30 catches for 377 yards, four touchdowns 2022) visited #49ers #Browns #Vikings #Buccaneers #Cowboys, per league source @KPRC2
Latu is more of a true tight end having been utilized heavily as a run blocker for the Crimson Tide. Zierlein described Latu’s blocking as one where he blocks with fortitude and comes with a “solid pop.”
But the 6-foot-4, 242-pounder averaged 14.1 yards per catch on the receiving end during his time in Tuscaloosa. He also etched his name in the Alabama record books after scoring eight touchdowns in the 2021 season.
Latu, like Higgins, has been given a fifth round grade by NFL.com.
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49ers Showing ‘Heavy’ Interest in ‘Big Slot Receiver’: Report