Tennessee Vols standout named as a 'perfect fit' for the San Francisco 49ers in the 2025 NFL Draft
The Athletic thinks that a Tennessee Vols standout would be a perfect fit for the San Francisco 49ers in the 2025 NFL Draft. On Wednesday, The Athletic's Matt Barrows detailed the players in this year's draft that he thinks would be perfect fits in San Francisco. And he named Vols running back Dylan Sampson as […]
The Athletic thinks that a Tennessee Vols standout would be a perfect fit for the San Francisco 49ers in the 2025 NFL Draft.
On Wednesday, The Athletic's Matt Barrows detailed the players in this year's draft that he thinks would be perfect fits in San Francisco.
And he named Vols running back Dylan Sampson as a perfect fit for the 49ers in the third round of the draft.
From The Athletic: [Kyle] Shanahan and his long-time running back guru, assistant Bobby Turner, have taken all sorts of running backs since arriving in 2017. One trait they seek is the ability to plant a foot in the ground, change direction, then quickly accelerate to top speed. It’s why the 49ers brought in Joe Williams and Matt Breida in 2017, went after Jerick McKinnon in free agency in 2018 and took Issac Guerendo in the fourth round last year — they had the speed to excel on the stretch zone runs that are a crucial part of San Francisco’s offense.
At 5-11, 200 pounds, Sampson isn’t nearly as big as Guerendo. He’s closer to what Raheem Mostert was coming out of Purdue in 2015. All three were high school track stars with Sampson once running the 100-meter dash in 10.48 seconds. His size also didn’t deter the Vols from using him as a goal-line back. He scored 22 rushing touchdowns last season.
Sampson would certainly be a great fit in Kyle Shanahan's offense. I'm not sure any coach in the league knows how to use running backs better than someone with the last name Shanahan.
But truthfully, Sampson would be a good fit with any team in the league. The Louisiana native is explosive, highly competitive, and a great leader. He's all about winning games. And that's the best trait that any draft prospect can have (it's a must).
It's still a bit early to project where Sampson will fall in the draft — we'll have a better idea after pro days and team interviews — but I wouldn't bet on the former Vol falling past the third round. And maybe he even sneaks into the second round.
Former Tennessee Vols player named one of the top NFL difference makers under the age of 40
A nice career for the former Vol
