Brayden Willis

Brayden Willis was born in Dallas and grew up in Arlington, Texas, where he played at Martin High School. A three-star recruit, he spent five seasons at Oklahoma, using the extra COVID-19 year of eligibility. His final season, 2022, was his best: 39 catches, 514 yards and seven touchdowns, earning second-team All-Big 12. San Francisco drafted him in the seventh round, 247th overall, in 2023. Since then he has been waived, re-signed to the practice squad and promoted to the active roster several times; the latest promotion came on September 15, 2026. He contributes mostly on special teams and is active with the 49ers. Tidbit: his NFL stat line is mostly tackles, with 10 listed on his infobox, because of all that special-teams work. The Tulsa World wrote on January 29, 2018: "Brayden Willis, a 6-4, 210-pound tight end from Arlington Martin (Texas) High School, committed for Oklahoma's 2018 recruiting class on Monday." The Tulsa World wrote on November 25, 2022: "Bob Wager, Willis' head coach at Arlington's Martin High School, would agree." Woodward News wrote on October 12, 2022: "The fifth-year tight end, who saw some snaps at quarterback in high school, recorded seven rushing attempts for 18 yards."