Kyle Shanahan adds fuel to NFC West rivalry with strong take after controversial 49ers and Seahawks draft decisions
San Francisco selected Kaelon Black late in the third round, two full rounds after Seattle selected Jadarian Price with their first pick in the draft.
The San Francisco 49ers had a controversial draft decision late on Day 2, taking running back Kaelon Black with the 90th overall pick, in the third round. Black was the 197th prospect on the consensus big board, 179th-ranked player by Dane Brugler, and 210th for the Bleacher Report.
While explaining his process, Shanahan unintentionally took a shot at his NFC West rivals, the Seattle Seahawks, who drafted fellow running back Jadarian Price with the 32nd overall pick. For Shanahan, Black is the better player.
“I’m trying to think of another way to word this, but we had him as the second-rated back on the board,” Shanahan said on the ‘Rich Eisen Show.’ “That’s just our evaluation of him, right or wrong, that’s our evaluation. Then you’ve got to decide where you think he’s going to go. I think that’s the hardest thing with this league.”
Discussion about the process
The 49ers have been one of the two teams, alongside the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have deviated the most from the consensus boards. While there is historical data pointing out that teams that do this have questionable results, Shanahan explained why he was willing to spend a higher pick on Black than previously projected.
“You’ve got a guy who’s not invited to the Combine, so what does that mean? Maybe it means he’s going in the sixth round, Shanahan mentioned. “But then you evaluate him and you’re like, I think this is a third-round running back. But you’re like, he’s not going in the sixth round because he wasn’t invited to the Combine, that’s what we’re guessing.
“Let’s put him as a sleeper in the sixth round, which we do with a lot of guys. We’ve had a lot of success on some of those dudes. But then you start to watch the whole draft and evaluate all the backs together. This wasn’t as deep of a draft as years past for running backs.”
Ultimately, Kyle Shanahan acknowledges there’s some risk involved in those types of decisions, but that’s the nature of the draft process.
“If someone else has him as their second back, you’re gambling that they’re not going to go up and take him as the second back right away,” the coach added. “You think they’re going to try to do the same thing. Everyone’s going to look at this as a fifth-round guy. Let’s take him in the fourth. By the time the draft came, we felt everyone’s looking at this guy as a fourth-round pick. If everyone’s looking at him as a fourth-round pick, if we want him, we’ll take him at 90 in the third. We’ll be all right with everyone hating on us and judging that, as long as that’s what we feel. That doesn’t mean you’re going to be right.”
Since Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch took over back in 2017, the 49ers have taken several mid-round running backs — with mediocre results at best. That’s the list of players the 49ers drafted at the position between the third and fourth rounds: Joe Williams, Trey Sermon, Tyrion Davis-Price, Isaac Guerendo. Last year, the team also selected Jordan James in the fifth.
Maybe the 49ers made the right decision and the consensus was wrong. Maybe the 49ers will miss again betting on this process to take running backs early. However, it will be fun to track and compare what Black and Price produce as rivals in the NFC West.
