49ers raising expectations around rookie with exciting comparison despite his pedestrian numbers in Week 3
Isaac Guerendo only had five carries for 19 yards in the San Francisco 49ers' Week 3 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams, however, his performance was enough to get the coaching staff very excited as they prepare to face the New England Patriots in Week 4. The 49ers traded up in the fourth round of […]
Isaac Guerendo only had five carries for 19 yards in the San Francisco 49ers' Week 3 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams, however, his performance was enough to get the coaching staff very excited as they prepare to face the New England Patriots in Week 4.
The 49ers traded up in the fourth round of this year's draft to land Guerendo, the former Wisconsin and Louisville running back who lit up the NFL Combine with a 40-yard dash of 4.33 seconds, dealing a pair of fifth-round picks.
He hasn't seen many touches this season despite the absence of Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey, with Jordan Mason taking the vast majority of carries. Mason is second in the NFL in rushing after an outstanding start deputizing for McCaffrey.
The numbers suggest there is little reason to give Guerendo more run in the coming weeks. However, the 49ers were impressed with what they witnessed from him at SoFi Stadium, so much so that offensive line coach and run game coordinator Chris Foerster compared him to a former Niners back who made history in the postseason just a few years ago.
Asked about Guerendo's performance, Foerster referenced a play in the third quarter on which he would have had a chance to rip off a huge gain had Aaron Banks not slipped at the second level while attempting to block a linebacker.
He said of Guerendo: “Loved him. Loved him. We had, oh man, if you guys watched the All-22, if you saw the play, Banks went up to get a linebacker and kind of didn’t go right at him, he kind of slipped and fell on his butt and, but it was right about on the 50. That’s a good feeling, right on the emblem. He fell backwards and missed the linebacker on that play. If he’d have got on that guy, there was a crease that he, I would’ve loved to see if he would’ve hit it. If he just could have, I thought he might have split the safety.
"He reminds me of another 31 [Miami Dolphins RB Raheem Mostert] we had here in his running style. He’s got that upright, good-speed running style. And I’m not putting him in that category yet, but he really does. I want to see him get a chance to get, we just haven’t gotten him the space yet.
"I like him. He’s got a ways to go, obviously. He’s got a lot of developing to do. And that position is a hard, tough position. But he’s nothing but a positive upside. He really looks to be that, I won’t say change of pace. Shoot, he could be your lead dog, but he’s got that little, that extra gear we’ve been looking for in a change between, Christian’s playing fast, JP’s [Mason] playing fast, but he’s got a little bit something different from those guys."
Mostert, a former track athlete like Guerendo, is best known for his franchise record 220-yard rushing performance in the NFC Championship Game performance against the Green Bay Packers that sealed the 49ers' place in the Super Bowl at the end of the 2019 season. He also had four touchdowns in that game.
That is a lofty comparison for Foerster to make and, while head coach Kyle Shanahan was not quite as generous with his praise on Friday, he expressed similar sentiments to Foerster in terms of satisfaction with Guerendo's progress.
"He showed on film what he has been showing us," said Shanahan.
"We’ve been encouraged about him for a while. He got off to a late start with his training camp injury, but we were encouraged with his preseason play. Everyone, I think, saw that with his kick return and stuff. He had two runs in that game that were encouraging and always a chance to get more.”
With Shanahan also talking up the potential of ramping up McCaffrey for a return from injured reserve following the Week 5 game with the Arizona Cardinals, Guerendo might not be under much pressure to perform for long. Right now, though, the onus is on him to repay the faith the coaching staff clearly has in his abilities.
Kyle Shanahan provides encouraging update about Christian McCaffrey’s potential 49ers return
Some light at the end of the tunnel.
