Ross Dwelley could remain key piece of 49ers offense even after George Kittle’s return
As star tight end George Kittle nears his return from left knee and ankle injuries — he said after Sunday’s victory over the Arizona Cardinals he badly wanted to play — the 49ers have reasons for optimism surrounding Kittle’s understudy and the quick development that may produce another viable weapon on offense when Kittle returns to the lineup.
Second-year pro Ross Dwelley scored the first two touchdowns of his career Sunday, helping San Francisco escape a 16-0 first-half deficit after the offense appeared dead in the water with Kittle watching from a luxury suite. The 49ers won 36-26, thanks to a go-ahead touchdown pass from Jimmy Garoppolo to running back Jeff Wilson Jr. with 37 seconds left.
No, Dwelley hasn’t been a statistical dynamo with his 14 catches for 66 yards this season. But he made a few of the most important receptions in key divisional wins over Arizona, like the game-sealing, third-down conversion on Halloween and his scores Sunday.
“Ross has been one of the better football players on our team this year,” coach Kyle Shanahan said Sunday, “and (he) doesn’t get a lot of accolades because he’s not going to sit there and get a bunch of explosive plays. But he’s as good of a football player as we’ve got going right now.
“We always mess with him. He’s got the best four-yards per catch average in the NFL right now,” Shanahan joked. “That’s why we went to him on third-and-three (on the final drive). That was right at his spot.”
Dwelley, who played at Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills, has a chance to remain an asset in Shanahan’s offense even when Kittle comes back, which could be Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. Shanahan, after all, uses more heavy-personnel packages than any other offensive coordinator in the NFL.
“Coach Shanahan’s going to do his thing,” Dwelley said. “He’s going to put us in good situations to make plays. So I just trust him, whatever he think he is best.”
Dwelley played a total of 26 snaps during the first three games. Since then, he’s averaged more than 35 snaps.
“Dwelley has as sure of hands as anyone I’ve been around,” Shanahan said. “You never know what coverages are going dictate. But I know Dwelley’s a guy the quarterback doesn’t mind going to him at any time. And I know I have a lot of confidence in him also.”
Given the team’s inconsistencies at receiver, Dwelley has a chance to remain a pass catching option. His blocking could also help resuscitate the league’s No. 3 ranked rushing offense that had season lows in back to back games Nov. 11 against the Seattle and Sunday versus the Cardinals with Kittle sidelined.
Arizona, for example, continued to load the box Sunday to stop the run. It worked as San Francisco was limited to a paltry 34 yards on 19 carries. Garoppolo had the 49ers’ longest run of the game when he scrambled for seven yards.
“When you are an efficient running team, definitely the play-actions and stuff open up the tight ends all the time,” Kittle said Sunday. “That’s what gets you the holeshots and that’s what get you those balls. A lot of Ross’ plays were off of play action stuff that he was able to catch and run.”
Dwelley has been forced to fill a couple crucial roles this season. He played fullback in place of Kyle Juszczyk during his four-game absence due to a knee injury. Then he replaced Kittle the past two games, who’s proven to be the team’s most indispensable player on offense for his value as a pass catcher and blocker.
Dwelley has appeared in 21 games the past two seasons and hasn’t missed a game since he was promoted from the practice squad to play the Packers last October. Dwelley’s game experience has taken the onus of Kittle to guide him through preparation so he can focus on rehab and treatment for his injured left leg.
“Fortunately, a guy like Ross, he doesn’t really need a lot of help,” Kittle said. “He’s been preparing for play. He prepares for every game like he’s going to start and he’s going to play every single rep. So he just hopped in. Pretty similar to Nick (Mullens) last year. He just hops in, he’s ready to go. There’s not a lot of, hey, get your toes wet. He’s just out there going full speed and that’s what you want out of a guy.”
This story was originally published November 19, 2019 at 4:00 AM.