49ers Talk: Can rookie Kaelon Black win backup job behind Christian McCaffrey?
On 49ers Talk, Matt Maiocco and Jennifer Lee Chan discuss the chances of San Francisco rookie Kaelon Black backing up Christian McCaffrey this season.
49ers Talk: Can rookie Kaelon Black win backup job behind Christian McCaffrey? originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Video Transcript
You know, McCaffrey, man, a heavy workload for him last year.
Mm-hmm.
And I, you know, I think typically it's been difficult after a, a heavy workload one year to come back and put that kind of, you know, effort on the field the next year- Right and stay out there.
Clyde Kubiak, the 49ers offense coordinator, was asked about, you know, the 49ers trying to find that, that back that helps them, and he said, "It's challenging because you're talking about a player who does not wanna come off the field, and when you look around the league and you study great backs and study guys who affect the game like he does, those guys don't wanna come out of the game."
But he also said that, "We've got to do a better job as coaches.
We've got to do a better job at times of getting a better rotation.
We know we have young backs that we want to get more production out of us, so it's on us to handle that."
And that's why the 49ers selected Kaylon Black at the 90th pick in the third round.
that's why they drafted George James last year.
That's why they drafted Isaac Grindo the year before that.
So that is definitely going to be, an emphasis for the 49ers to try to share the load certainly more than they have in the past.
Right.
but they need one of those guys to step up.
I saw some highlights of him at the Senior Bowl.
Mm-hmm.
And you know what Kyle Shanahan's favorite route is for his running backs?
That choice route.
Right.
So he caught, Kaylon Black did, eight passes for, I don't know, eight passes during two years at, at Indiana.
Uh-huh.
So the thought was, when I saw those stats, I was like, "Ah, he can't catch the ball."
Right.
But at JMU- Mm-hmm James Madison, he, he did catch the ball.
Right.
44 passes over, over four years, or over two years, in fact.
Mm-hmm.
But I was watching the one-on-ones at the Senior Bowl and Kaylon Black running those choice routes, he was leaving defenders, like, he was creating five yards of separation like that.
Wow.
And I think that's one of the many pieces that sold Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers on, on Kaylon Black.
you know, he runs powerfully.
He never fumbled the ball.
He's a good blocker, so he can stay on at third downs for blitz pickup.
But running those choice routes and giving Brock Purdy that easy pitch-and-catch option, I, I think is one of the things that the 49ers see that would enable him to stay or, you know, get on the field, whether the play call is called for Christian McCaffrey or anybody else- Right and maybe he can do those things.
