When asked Tuesday if he had a few favorites in the 49ers’ 10-man draft class, vice president of player personnel Adam Peters ticked off several players.
Then, he threw out a surprise.
“I do like Hikutini,” Peters said, “even though we didn’t draft him.”
That would be Louisville tight end Cole Hikutini, who was bypassed in the 253-man draft after he posted a plodding time in the 40-yard dash and had just one season with more than 19 catches at the Division I level.
So why is Peters so enthused? The 49ers think Hikutini, who grew up in Sacramento and spent one season at City College of San Francisco, slipped through the cracks of a deep tight end class and is a potentially ideal fit as a pass-catcher in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s system.