© Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports
SANTA CLARA — Dalton Schultz had just concluded his final opportunity to impress NFL personnel ahead of the 2018 NFL Draft. Schultz, one of 50 area prospects invited to the 49ers pro day Wednesday afternoon, ran through receiving drills for nearly an hour alongside other draft hopefuls.
He found satisfaction when a familiar Stanford product approached him on the sidelines shortly after the workout.
“I appreciate you being out here, man,” 49ers general manager John Lynch said. “We were going to shut you down, but it sounded like you wanted to go.”
“I wanted to,” Schultz said. “Things are going well?”
“Things are going great,” Lynch said. “You have done a great job.”
For Schultz, the brief exchange was a full-circle moment.
More than three years earlier, the two met for the first time in Schultz’s first class as a Stanford undergrad. It was a decision-analysis course that 49ers defensive end Solomon Thomas had also taken. Schultz’s group examined whether the Washington Redskins should change their name, a contentious topic throughout the NFL in recent years, and Lynch was there to provide NFL perspective.
“That was a really cool first experience,” Schultz said.
While Lynch impacted Schultz’s early college life, the 49ers general manager has reappeared at the onset of Schultz’s professional life.
Among the positions the 49ers may address in the 2018 NFL Draft, beginning Apr. 26, is tight end. Schultz, projected as a third-to-fourth round pick, could potentially complement George Kittle and Garrett Celek with his blocking abilities.
The main knock against Schultz, who was named to the All-Pac 12 first- team in 2017, is his lack of receiving production. He produced only 22 catches for 212 yards and three touchdowns this past season.
Schultz, well aware of the criticism, has spent the recent months refining his receiving skills and weight-training daily.
“It’s definitely an aspect of my game I continue to work on and have been working on the last two years,” Schultz said. “I’ve never seen myself as a one dimensional in-line blocking tight end, and I won’t because that’s not my outlook on myself.”
In the 2018 NFL Combine, the 6-foot-5, 244-pound Schultz neither helped nor hurt his draft stock. He ran a 4.75 40-yard dash, produced 15 bench reps, and had 10-foot broad jump, all middling numbers for tight ends.
Wednesday’s pro day was an opportunity for Schultz to display his quickness, route-running, and hands in front of Lynch, head coach Kyle Shanahan, and members of the 49ers coaching staff.
“Coming out here and doing workouts like this is something that’s been high on my list,” Schultz said. “I want to make sure teams can see I am not a one-dimensional tight end like everybody thinks I am.”
Throughout the past two years, Schultz has envisioned how he would fit within various NFL schemes. He studied film of Antonio Gates, Jimmy Graham, and Jason Witten. Schultz has admired how Zach Ertz, a Stanford product, broke at the top of his routes to create separation. Schultz worked with Ertz whenever he returned to Palo Alto in recent years.
And like Ertz, Schultz understands NFL terminology, hailing from a Stanford offense known for its pro-style intricacies.
“It’s very easy to talk X’s and O’s with (coaches) who also speaks your football terms,” Schultz said.
Schultz is the latest product from a Stanford program that has produced a long line of NFL tight ends.
In the 2010 and 2011 seasons, Stanford boasted three future NFL tight ends, including Ertz, Coby Fleener, and Levine Toilolo. They helped cement the ‘Tight End U’ moniker attached to Stanford that Schultz wanted to continue.
“No pressure,” Schultz said.
Like those players who came before him, Schultz will have the opportunity to live out a lifelong dream in the coming weeks. He has strived for an NFL career ever since he received his first scholarship offer from the University of Utah as a sophomore in high school.
As the NFL Draft looms, Schultz will try to decompress in the coming week. He will return to his South Jordan, Utah home, before visiting a friend on the East Coast.
Once Apr. 26 comes, however, he knows the emotions will resurface, as Schultz awaits his NFL fate.
“It’s exciting, but there’s a lot of anxiety,” Schultz said. “The work, especially now that (Wednesday) is over, is done.”
For more 49ers coverage, follow KNBR’s 49ers beat writer, Brad Almquist, on Twitter @bquist13.
