Brayden Willis (born November 11, 1999) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

Early life

Willis grew up in

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...

and attended Martin High School. He was rated a three-star recruit and committed to play

at Oklahoma.

College career

Willis played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners for five seasons. He caught 15 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns as a senior. Willis decided to use the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes in 2020 due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic and returned to Oklahoma for a fifth season. In his final season, he caught 39 passes for 514 yards and seven touchdowns.

Professional career

Willis was selected by the

in the seventh round, 247th overall, of the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL draft was the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. The NFL draft, draft was held outside of Kansas City Union Station, Union Station i ...

. Willis was waived by the 49ers on August 27, 2024, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 8. On April 22, 2025, Willis re-signed with the 49ers.

References

External links

San Francisco 49ers bioOklahoma Sooners bio
Living people 1999 births American football tight ends Martin High School (Arlington, Texas) alumni Oklahoma Sooners football players Players of American football from Arlington, Texas San Francisco 49ers players {{Tightend-stub