Getty Tashaun Gipson of the 49ers attempts to swat the football against Taysom Hill on November 27, 2022 in Santa Clara.
The San Francisco 49ers have a new “hammer” in their toolbox of offensive options.
Following the 2023 NFL Draft on Saturday, April 29, the franchise began to fill their roster with undrafted prospects. And one of the more intriguing additions is the “hammer” from Corvallis, Oregon in Jack Colletto — best known for playing more than five positions including quarterback and fullback for Oregon State.
THE HAMMER FOR SIX ‼️🔨💥
🏈 @Jackcolletto
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Turns out, one team that was revealed by The Athletic on Monday, May 1 saw comparisons to versatile and beloved backup quarterback for the New Orleans Saints Taysom Hill when evaluating Colletto — the same Hill who has damaged NFL defenses as an extra running back and wide receiver.
“Colletto had five formal visits in the run-up to the draft, an indication of how much teams valued him. The Jets and Dolphins — who both run a 49ers-like offense — were eying him as their version of fullback Kyle Juszczyk. The Seahawks saw him as a newer version of do-everything special teamer Nick Bellore. The Broncos thought he could be a Taysom Hill-like chess piece in their offense. The Chiefs looked at him, too,” The Athletic’s Matt Barrows wrote. “That’s the allure of the 6-foot-3, 237-pound Colletto. The position list above is no exaggeration. He’s a jack of many, many trades.”
The most telling comparison is Hill for this reason: The Broncos are now led by Hill’s former head coach Sean Payton, who masterfully drew mismatches with the Swiss Army knife type from BYU. The 49ers, though, managed to keep the Paul Hornung Award winner (given annually to college football’s most versatile player) Colletto near the Pacific coastline.
Colletto can Play up to 6 Positions
Colletto is not your typical undrafted free agent.
It’s one thing to have tight end-like size at 6-foot-3, 237-pounds. But at that size, he’s proven he can run with the tight ends as a linebacker…and add even more field flexibility from there.
The Beavers lined him up at tight end, wide receiver, as a lead blocker at fullback and, in the position he was once known for at Camas High in Washington, quarterback. But he’s touched all three facets of the field as he was additionally used on special teams. The versatility didn’t stop at Oregon State, as Colletto had his multi-faceted game in tow during Shrine Bowl practices.
.@BeaverFootball‘s @JackColletto tested well and worked out at fullback, linebacker and tight end at Pro Day
He posted a 36.5 vert + 9’10 broad, both top-5 among FBs the last 10 years
Colletto is going to offer value at LB, TE and ST, along with being one of the drafts best FBs
Draft expert for nfl.com Lance Zierlein was another fan of Colletto’s knack for playing in multiple spots.
“Tenacious prospect willing to offer up whatever he can in order to find the field and help his team win,” Zierlein wrote in his first sentence of Colletto’s overview.
Where can the 49ers Plug Him?
There’s already an idea of where Colletto can start, then where he can fill in.
“The 49ers likely see him as a core special teams player and someone Kyle Shanahan could fold into his offense if Juszczyk, 32, got hurt or if there were a string of injuries at tight end,” Barrows wrote. “Or if there were injuries at linebacker. They could even insert him in short-yardage or goal-line situations as a Wildcat quarterback.”
Safe to say, the “hammer” has a chance to pound away in more than one spot in the Bay and become the new Hill.