17 NFL teams called former Georgia Southern running back Matt Breida during the week of the 2017 NFL Draft. By the time the three-day event was over, he already knew where he wanted to go. Breida signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent and spent his rookie season as Carlos Hyde's backup, just thankful for the opportunity to play in the NFL.
It was a dream that started when Breida was six years old. He loved playing football from the moment he was first exposed to it. Watching the NFL with his father, Breida knew that's where he wanted to be one day.
Breida entered his sophomore NFL season, once again, as a backup. An injury, however, changed everything. Breida separated his shoulder during the 49ers' exhibition opener on August 9. He did not play another snap during the preseason. That wasn't the injury that trust Breida into the spotlight, though. Free agent acquisition Jerick McKinnon, who was meant to be a featured piece in head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense, went down just before the start of the season with a torn ACL.
Enter Breida.
The 49ers running back is the No. 3 ranked rusher in the NFL as he fills in for the injured McKinnon, who is out for the year. His 313 rushing yards through the first quarter of the season placed him behind just Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys and Todd Gurley of the Los Angeles Rams. That's pretty good company.
You could say the 49ers are fortunate that Breida decided to sign with them. It was more than just luck. The team was persistent during the whole draft process in showing Breida how much it valued him. The running back was the guest on the latest 49ers Insider Podcast with Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area and shared why San Francisco was an easy choice for his NFL home.
"When I got on the phone with (running backs coach) Bobby Turner and (run game coordinator) Mike McDaniel, something just clicked," Breida said. "Something was telling me in my gut this was the right place. Mike McDaniel was on the phone with me I think probably almost half the draft just calling me back every two seconds. I was like, 'That's somewhere I want to go.'"
The 49ers made it clear to Breida that if he didn't get drafted, Shanahan, Turner, McDaniels, and company wanted him in San Francisco.
"Mike was telling me he just believed in me," Breida continued. "He watched my college tape. He's like he don't care about my senior year, none of that. He's like, 'We know what you can do and we want you here.' That really stuck with me ever since then, and that was a big reason why I chose the 49ers."
If San Francisco wanted Breida so bad, why not just draft him in the late rounds? The running back never asked himself that question.
"At that point, I was just so happy that I just had the opportunity to play in the NFL," Breida said. "Like I said, I just felt like this was the right fit for me."
You can listen to the entire interview with Breida, which starts at about the four-minute mark, below.