The 49ers traded up and took a running back in the fourth round. Wait, where are you going? It's okay, it's okay, Joe Williams can't hurt you anymore.
San Francisco traded picks 173 and 176 to get No. 129 from the New York Jets. With it, they took the most athletic running back in the NFL Draft, Louisville's Isaac Guerendo.
Guerendo had a lack of college production at Wisconsin, and didn't break out until his fifth year at Louisville, when he had 810 rushing yard sand 11 TDs, on a 6.1 yards-per-carry average. In his limited touches in his final two years at Wisconsin, he averaged 7.0 and 6.0 yards per carry over the previous two seasons, respectively.
Despite that limited production, he profiles as a great fit for whatever the 49ers want to run, especially outside zone. He ran a 99.6th percentile 40-yard dash with a 90.6th percentile 10-yard split. HE had a 41.5-inch vertical, and tested elite in everywhere but the bench press, where he was mediocre, at 17 reps. He is a 99th percentile athlete at the running back position, per relative athletic scores.
DRAFT GRADE: B-
There's an argument to be made that the 49ers overpaid for Guerendo by trading up, and their track record doing that, and getting running backs before the fourth round, is very concerning. Coupled with his limited production and lengthy injury history (hamstring injuries sidelined him in 2019 and 2020, torn Lisfranc in October of 2021) at age 24, that's worth being dubious of.
Still, Guerendo looked outstanding his senior year, and provides capability in the passing game in addition to the shiftiness and athleticism to get loose in the running game. He profiles as someone who should become the 49ers' plug-and-play No. 2 running back, and at worst, their No. 3, and great insurance if Christian McCaffrey and/or Elijah Mitchell get hurt. The value, injury history and limited production knock it a bit.
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