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One of the more intriguing San Francisco 49ers players on offense is running back Jerick McKinnon. He's been with the team since 2018 but hasn't played a regular-season snap since signing.
Heading into the offseason, no one could figure out what to make of McKinnon, who suffered an ACL injury just before the start of his first season with the 49ers, and last year had a setback that forced him to miss another season.
Now, after five training camp practices, many are wondering if a healthy McKinnon can finally be the dynamic weapon that head coach Kyle Shanahan envisioned when he fought for the 49ers to sign the former Minnesota Viking.
Sometimes you can tell how excited Shanahan is about a player by how long he talks about him when asked a question. The coach must be very excited about McKinnon.
"We brought Jet here for a reason a few years ago," Shanahan said during a Thursday-afternoon KNBR on the
Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks show. "And we went into that year thinking about adding a receiver in free agency. All the receivers out there, we didn't really think fit the role of what they were all getting paid.
"And we thought there was a running back, who, at the time, we thought could come in here and be our starting running back, but more importantly, be a guy that we got the ball to a lot in the pass game.
"He's had two very bad injuries that were pretty bad luck. It was really one injury that I don't think it healed right, so they had to redo it again, which cost him two years."
Returning from an ACL injury is often more difficult for a running back who relies on cutting and being more elusive than, say, a quarterback. Jimmy Garoppolo suffered the same injury weeks after McKinnon, but went on to start 16 games the next season.
"You always worry about that, with the severity of those injuries, if they can come back and be the same guy," the coach added.
Shanahan has said that McKinnon didn't look right during training camp last year. That prompted the 49ers to make the tough decision to shelve him for another season. It sounds like the team made the right call.
"What Jet has done, just the way he's worked in these two offseasons, it's been pretty frustrating for him, but he hasn't given up on it," Shanahan continued. "He's stayed positive. To watch him out here, just for a week, he's healthy, he looks good.
"He's under control, he's smooth, he can do all the stuff in the pass game and the run game, and he's got a quiet confidence out there because — we're not trying to put any bad luck on him — he's been looking good. And we just hope he can keep going at it each day because we're really excited about the player we have."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Shanahan below.
We are less than one week away from the NFL Draft, and the San Francisco 49ers have their first day-one draft pick since 2021. That was the year they selected QB Trey Lance number three overall. The trade-up to get Lance cost the 49ers their first-round picks in 2022 and 2023. And now that they are back in the first round, at pick 31, fans are anxious to see what the team does with the pick. And with former assistant GM, Adam Peters, now in Washington, it will be interesting to see how well the 49ers draft without Peters in the room.
We looked back at the seven drafts GM John Lynch and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan have led to see what information we could pull from those drafts. There were plenty of hits, plenty of misses, and a few surprises along the way. The draft picks are
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw for a franchise-record 4,280 yards last season, leading the team to the Super Bowl and earning his first Pro Bowl selection. He held onto the football 39 times on the ground, rushing for 144 yards and scoring twice. This marked a significant improvement over his rookie 2022 campaign when he had 22 carries for 13 yards and a score.
Purdy further displayed his athleticism during the 49ers' playoff game against the Detroit Lions last season, helping engineer a comeback victory while rushing for 48 yards on five carries.
On Tuesday morning, Purdy joined the "Pat McAfee Show," acknowledging that he believes he can contribute more rushing yards if called upon. However, that decision rests with head coach Kyle Shanahan,
The San Francisco 49ers announced the signing of wide receiver Trent Taylor to a one-year deal, reuniting with the team's former fifth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area was the first to report that the 49ers were discussing a potential reunion with Taylor. The receiver was part of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's first draft class in 2017 and spent his first four NFL seasons with the team.
The #49ers are talking with free-agent slot receiver/return man
The San Francisco 49ers are hosting several draft prospects this week as the deadline for pre-draft visits draws near. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, the team will host former Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley on Wednesday.
Corley is expected to be a Day 2 pick. San Francisco owns two selections on Day 2—the No. 63 overall pick in the second round and the No. 94 overall pick in the third round. Currently, the receiver is visiting with the Seattle Seahawks.
Western Kentucky @WKUFootball receiver Malachi Worley
