Kaelon Black Says He's Different than the Other RBs the 49ers Have Drafted
Grant Cohn and Brandon Deutsch discuss Kaelon Black saying he's different than the other running backs the San Francisco 49ers have drafted.
Video Transcript
Kayle Black addressed his doubters.
This is what I wanted to talk about.
He said this to the San Francisco Chronicle's Noah Furtado.
He said, I know one of the things I was hit with before San Francisco was San Francisco has a habit of drafting running backs in the 3rd to 5th round, and they don't play or they don't pan out, and I'm just trying to change that narrative for myself.
I don't want to get grouped with anybody in the past.
I'm just really in my own lane.
It's how I've been my whole life.
I respect that, man.
I mean, I wouldn't want to be grouped with Ty Davis Price either, you know what I mean?
What do you think of Kevin Black acknowledging the past and the pattern?
Hey, don't hate on Ty Davis Price.
I saw him in the UFL the other day, he was playing running back for one of those teams.
Uh, he just talked about a bust, Ty Davis Price, Trey Sermon.
Uh, I do think he'll be better than both of those guys, it's almost impossible to be worse than those guys.
At the NFL level, at least.
But I, you know, I'm, I'm , sometimes I'm pessimistic, but with Kaylin Black, I'm all in.
I'm, I'm gonna buy his jersey, man.
I like Kaylin Black, I know they drafted him a few rounds too early, but the dude's jacked.
He looks like, I mean, I was, I saw a ton of his tape at Indiana.
I feel like he can be an impact player right away, and guess what?
He's a better pass protector than Jordan James.
So all these people are like, Jordan James is gonna be the RB too.
I think it's gonna be Kayle Black, and I think he's gonna have a pretty good year.
Here are my prize picks for the 49ers 2026 season.
Brock Purdy, 25.5 passing touchdowns, more or less.
I'm gonna say less.
Christian McCaffrey, 974.5 rushing yards, more or less.
I'm gonna say less.
Mike Evans, 924.5 receiving yards, more or less.
Hm, that's a tough one.
I'm going with less.
Go to prize picks, use promo code HMA play $5 and get $50 instantly in lineups.
Again, that's code HMA prize picks, it's good to be right.
Here's what I want to say to Kaylin Black.
Uh, I believe in you too.
I think you got a real opportunity in front of you.
But here's the thing, the Niners are not afraid to just use Christian McCaffrey the whole game.
So, if you wanna play, there's a couple of things you gotta do.
One, you gotta understand that Bobby Turner is different and old school, and he's gonna give you a written test.
Everyone in the in the room once a week on Friday, you gotta ace that test.
If you don't, you won't play.
2 .
If you ever fumble, I'm talking in practice, you won't play.
So, just don't ever fumble.
And do well in the written test.
I'm pretty sure that's what Elijah Mitchell did, because he got on the field immediately as a rookie, and they loved him even when he was averaging like 2 yards of carry, because he never fumbled, and I don't know, I assume he, you know, did well in the Scantron tests.
So, that's what you gotta do you gotta know, know your assignment, and hold on to that ball, you'll play.
I feel bad for those running backs, by the way, running behind whoever's at.
That other guard spot and Jake Brendle at center, who, it's all right, man, they got Stribling out there, didn't you hear?
He's a great blocker.
They might put him at left guard.
They might put him at tight end.
Hey, at this point, I'd rather put Stribling at safety.
They need an extra safety.
Put him there.
More or less 100 carries for Kaylen Black as a rookie.
100 carries?
100.
Less Pluss.
I mean, he's gonna have a lot of carries, but I don't think, I do think if McCaffrey gets hurt, they'll they'll split him up a little bit with Black and and James, like he's not gonna get a bazillion carries.
Bryan Robinson got 92 last year.
I'm gonna say more.
I just don't think Christian's gonna make it through 17 games like he did last year.
And I'm not trying to like predict injuries.
I'm just trying to be realistic here.
I, I just think he's probably gonna get dinged up and miss a few games at minimum.
Given how they used him last year, which means someone's gonna have to carry the ball unless they stop running it.
And it could be Garrendo, it's not gonna be Garino .
Garrendo's getting cut, um, sorry, buddy, uh, but I mean, I, I, I would be shocked if he's on the team because he fumbles, it doesn't matter how fast he is.
He, you know, vision is bad and he fumbles.
Doesn't matter that he has 4-3 speed apparently to college.
You know what annoyed me though, that the 49ers didn't sign an undrafted free agent running back because if they had, he would have inevitably been better than Kaylin Black.
I think they were nervous.
They were scared.
They did.
Kaylin Black was projected to go undrafted, and they got him.
They drafted him in round 3, and I love Kayle Black, but he did go rounds too early.
Draft the guy who's supposed to be the UDFA, and then you get your player, OK.
