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Kaelon Black

T

he NFL Draft is over and the league’s newest crop of rookies officially have new homes. All 32 teams gathered in Pittsburgh over the weekend hoping to find their next star that can make a real difference. For some teams, finding another star is pivotal– needing to find the missing piece that can bring them back to relevance. For others, the draft was simply about keeping the standards high and finding players that can keep the success going.

The San Francisco 49ers had a lot to prove this draft, needing to fill voids at several positions. Finishing 12-5 and returning to the playoffs last season after a one year absence, the 49ers showed a lot of improvement but were unable to get over the hump and be true Super Bowl contenders. And in this year’s draft, the 49ers were ambitious, selecting guys that did not generate a lot of buzz ahead of the weekend. One of the 49ers’ draft selections, running back Kaelon Black, got picked in the third round– way earlier than projected. Defending the pick, head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke to the media after draft weekend and explained why the team valued Black so highly.

Shanahan Explains Black Pick

Given how Black had a late round draft grade on him, many were surprised when the 49ers chose him early in the third round. But Shanahan explained that Black is someone who could have a big role early on, alluding to the fact that the team needs to take some pressure off of Christian McCaffrey.

“It always starts with me with just who’s the most natural running back. I love third-down backs, all the pass game stuff that people can bring, but when it just comes to running the ball, you need to have more than one starter,” Shanahan said. “We’ve gone through a number of years here where we’ve been through at least four backs. Last year was one of the abnormal years where, and it was awesome, but our starting back was able to stay healthy.”

McCaffrey led the league in carries by a wide margin and while he was named a Pro Bowler, first-team All-Pro and earned Comeback Player of the Year honors, McCaffrey looked like a shell of his former self, averaging less than four yards per carry and getting beat up week in, week out. And losing Brian Robinson Jr. in free agency, the 49ers made it a point to find a running back who is capable of taking some of McCaffrey’s carries right out of the gate.

“If you ever had to give him more carries, could he hit the right hole? Can he move the chains when you only block it for three? Can he get five?,” Shanahan added. “The physicality he ran with, how he broke tackles when he did get into space, how he didn’t sit there and stutter his feet, he just broke to open spots and got yards.”

What Black Brings to the 49ers

Part of a two-headed monster at running back for Indiana in 2025, Black broke out in his final season in college– finishing ’25 with 186 carries for 1,040 yards and 10 touchdowns for the national title winning Hoosiers. Despite sharing the backfield with Roman Hemby, Black proved that he can shine with a big role. But what really makes Black an intriguing prospect is his speed for his 5-foot-9, 208 pound frame (4.45 40 time) and ability to catch the ball– shining in pass catching drills at his pro day.