Stacked at back

Is it my imagination or are the Niners loaded at back? Wow, they are so deep, I'm wondering whether someone will get traded. I know Gore's career is winding down, but they have Hunter, LMJ in the wings, plus Latt getting a redshirt here and even Jewel has skills. Opportunity for another pick next year?

Harbaugh and Roman have always been about multi-back offenses. If Hunter comes back at full strength, I'd imagine he'd eat a few carries from Gore. We could see James more on third down and in the return game.

Debniak, Alex RB 6'2" 240
Dixon, Anthony RB 6'1" 233
Gore, Frank RB 5'9" 217
Hampton, Jewel RB 5'9" 210
Harper, D.J. RB 5'9" 205
Hunter, Kendall RB 5'7" 199
James, LaMichael RB 5'9" 195
Lattimore, Marcus RB 6'0" 232
Miller, Bruce RB 6'2" 248

It's an interesting group. You've got a couple of classic scat backs, a couple of big bruisers, a guy with basically the same body as Gore and a couple of guys who are big but not enormous. You've got one legitimate speed burner in James and Hunter is also pretty fast. All types of backs are represented.

I love these backs and if they can all get and stay relatively healthy as well as our OL we will continue to punish teams on the ground and remain a top 3 rushing attack

We have no clue about anyone other than the guys on the roster last year. No idea if hunter will be close to what he was, no clue if Hampton or Lattimore will ever pan out. We aren't stacked, at this point we have a lot of running backs.

Originally posted by AZ9erfan520:
We have no clue about anyone other than the guys on the roster last year. No idea if hunter will be close to what he was, no clue if Hampton or Lattimore will ever pan out. We aren't stacked, at this point we have a lot of running backs.

I still remember that people were very dubious of drafting a running back with a history of serious knee injuries in the third round. But, Frank Gore worked out pretty well. Jewel Hampton looks like a Gore clone and at one time, people were predicting the Marcus Lattimore was another Adrian Peterson. LaMichael Jame is like Darren Sproles only faster and shiftier. We already know Kendall Hunter can be a very productive back. So I think it's a little bit of an over-statement to say we have no clue. Frank Gore looked stronger at the end of a long season than he has in three or four years, so I'm not counting him out at all.

STACKED AT BACK!

Originally posted by GNielsen:

I still remember that people were very dubious of drafting a running back with a history of serious knee injuries in the third round. But, Frank Gore worked out pretty well. Jewel Hampton looks like a Gore clone and at one time, people were predicting the Marcus Lattimore was another Adrian Peterson. LaMichael Jame is like Darren Sproles only faster and shiftier. We already know Kendall Hunter can be a very productive back. So I think it's a little bit of an over-statement to say we have no clue. Frank Gore looked stronger at the end of a long season than he has in three or four years, so I'm not counting him out at all.

Hunter was a good rb before he got hurt. We will find out in a few months if he is still that good. Lattimore and Hampton have a combined zero NFL carries. Not saying they can't be good but thinking either is going to be good based on comparisons and knee injuries is somewhat of a stretch.

Originally posted by AZ9erfan520:
Hunter was a good rb before he got hurt. We will find out in a few months if he is still that good. Lattimore and Hampton have a combined zero NFL carries. Not saying they can't be good but thinking either is going to be good based on comparisons and knee injuries is somewhat of a stretch.

Sure, but the knee injuries aren't the only basis for comparison. The backgrounds are very similar. With all three, Gore, Hampton and Lattimore, there was huge buzz in NFL scouting circles about their NFL potential before they got hurt. Virtually every NFL team in the league was watching Lattimore from the moment he came out of High School. Lattimore and Hampton, just like Gore, were projected as top-10 first round picks before their injuries. The Niners have a history with Gore and they're pretty stacked already with a talented team so they have the luxury of taking these kinds of chances. Also, we shouldn't forget that the Niners have had the advantage, being on the peninsula, of being close to some of the most elite medical talent in the country.

As far as Hunter is concerned, I think a lot of fans have failed to realize that sports medicine has taken huge steps forward in recent years. Look at baseball. Pitchers are coming back from elbow and shoulder injuries that would have absolutely ended their careers 20 years ago. It's the same in football. Guys are coming back from achilles tendon and knee injuries that used to end playing careers. Hunter is already cutting. The word is that he'll be 100% by the start of training camp.

I just have a hard time saying we got all these quality runners without seeing any of them play in a game after being injured. I hope for the best, but in reality we wont know anything until they play in a meaningful game.

Niners have a history of drafting guys that had some injury or knock against. Sapolu, f*gan, Holt, Gore.....let's hope Carradine and Lattimore get added to this list.

Big Butts Breathing All The White Man-Air

I like big backs and can't deny.

I love the Niners FO philosophy on drafting RB's. While they have an accomplished RB in Gore, they continue to fill the pipeline with highly successful college RBs with knee injury history. The odds are good that one or two of them will blossum into a high quality NFL back. They don't have to break the bank on the RB position and there is constant competition. Worst case scenario is, if they get to many high quality RBs, they can trade them for more draft picks. I think it's brilliant. Some team always needs a RB.

we'll see how KH comes back from the injury, but prior to that, I really thought he was the heir apparent to Gore. Sure he didn't have Gore's vision, but no one does. You could really see him improve each year, and each game. The kid gets it. If he returns to form, I have no doubts in my mind that he can be a work horse the same way Frank was.

Having a guy like LMJ will only extend his career and effectiveness. We really haven't seen enough from Jewel, or Lattimore, or the rest of the bunch, but they definitely have potential. I'm glad we still have Frank and can develop these guys. I'm totally in the camp that thinks we are stacked at RB.