It’s clear the 49ers didn’t set out to pick for need in the 2022 NFL draft. Their first selection at No. 61 was defensive end Drake Jackson. Their second selection at No. 93 overall was running back Tyrion Davis-Price. This is the second year in a row they’ve drafted a running back in the third round, and Davis-Price is the third RB they’ve drafted in the last two years. So why so many RBs?
There are a handful of reasons San Francisco could be loading up on RBs.
First, this appears to indicate that they’re not optimistic on Trey Sermon’s development after they traded two fourth-round picks to take him in the third round last year. He didn’t get much playing time last year and saw action in only nine games. In those nine games he carried the ball just 41 times.
There are also some injury concerns with Elijah Mitchell, who was the workhorse with 207 caries in just 11 games. Given that none of Sermon, Jeff Wilson Jr. or JaMycal Hasty could get on the field when Sermon did play, San Francisco may want more out of their depth at that position to spell Mitchell to help keep him healthy.
They could aim to lean on Davis-Price on third downs, too. That job was held by Hasty and he was fine, but the team could certainly use an upgrade.
It’s interesting the 49ers would go this route regardless of their depth chart at a position where they’ve generated production with late picks and undrafted free agents.
The bottom line is Davis-Price has to be good right away to justify the pick. He can’t play the same role Sermon had last year. San Francisco passed up secondary help and offensive line help to pick a running back in Round 3 again.
Their roster isn’t deep enough to throw away top 100 picks, so this has to work.