With a roster as deep and talented as the one the San Francisco 49ers have had in recent seasons, there hasn't always been a need for them to get wholesale contributions from all of their rookie players. But with this year's roster decimated due to injuries, the 49ers rookies have all needed to play a significant role -- and they keep delivering when called upon.
Every single member of the 49ers 2024 draft class has made their presence felt at some point this season except for offensive lineman and sixth-round pick Jarrett Kingston, who did not make the initial 53-man roster. In Sunday night's 30-24 win over the Dallas Cowboys, it was wide receiver and first-round pick Ricky Pearsall and running back/fourth-round pick Isaac Guerendo who had to step up in the clutch, and both of them did exactly that, with Pearsall contributing four catches for 38 yards and a 39-yard run while Guerendo finished with 14 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown.
Pearsall made his NFL debut a week ago after missing time while recovering from a gunshot, while Guerendo hasn't always been needed on offense due to the emergence of Jordan Mason, who has taken the bulk of the carries while Christian McCaffrey recovers from Achilles tendonitis. But with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk out for the season due to a knee injury and Mason coming up with a shoulder injury on Sunday night, Pearsall and Guerendo needed to make their mark and play an important role in helping the 49ers get a win over the Cowboys.
"That's a heck of a rookie class right there," linebacker Fred Warner said Sunday night. "I don't think you can talk about it enough."
Guerendo's contributions in particular proved to be vital on Sunday night. Guerendo saw just 12 carries over the first five weeks of the season, but over the past three games, he's shown he can be counted on when needed after rushing for 99 yards on 10 carries in a Week 6 win over the Seahawks before holding down the running back duties in the absence of Mason against the Cowboys.
"I'm extremely happy for him, the way he comes to work every day and the chip that he has on his shoulder," quarterback Brock Purdy said of Guerendo after the win. "Humble dude -- he's always asking questions and wants to make sure he's doing everything right. So for him to be doing what he's doing right now for our team, I couldn't be happier for him. And I get it -- being a rookie, coming in with some big names in the huddle and everything, you can sort of be awestruck in a sense. But he doesn't care -- he's grabbing the ball and running hard, so I appreciate that about him."
Initially it was difficult to know what to expect from Guerendo as a running back this season given the depth the 49ers had in the backfield and the fact he missed an extended period of time in the preseason due to a hamstring issues. But with McCaffrey, Elijah Mitchell (hamstring) and now Mason dealing with injuries, Guerendo has been pressed into action and now looks ready for whatever the 49ers will need him to do.
"I think he's learned from each run he's gotten," head coach Kyle Shanahan said after the win. "There's a couple runs earlier in the year that he did all right on, but you know, we grade him pretty hard, everybody pretty hard. He had a couple like four yard runs we thought he could have got seven yards on. We go pretty hard on him and then you watch how he takes that to practice. Everything we've really kind of been pushing him with, he's been real coachable. He's not a sensitive guy. He's real detailed and he's very poised for a rookie. Things aren't too big for him. He didn't get a lot of preseason, but once he got healthy there and throughout this year, I feel he's gotten better each week."
Guerendo's carries may dwindle once McCaffrey returns, but that's not something he seems to be worried about.
"He's been working his butt off trying to get back," Guerendo said of McCaffrey in an interview with NBC Sports Bay Area on Sunday. "I can't wait for him to be back. He's a great guy to learn from. So being able to ask him as many questions as possible, then whatever my role is, just continuing to embrace that."
Pearsall, on the other hand, is likely only in the beginning of what will be an extended major role for the 49ers due to Aiyuk's injury. Fortunately he's adjusting quickly, telling reporters he made a big leap from last week to this week after spending more time working with Purdy in practice.
"Way more comfortable," said Pearsall, who also missed time in the preseason while battling hamstring and shoulder problems. "I think I'm going to get even more comfortable (in the) weeks to come. I've only had four full-speed practices in total because you really only get two full-speed practices throughout the week, so it's only up from here."
The 49ers have had one rookie win a full-time starting role in guard and third-round pick Dominick Puni, and one other who filling in for an injured starter (Talanoa Hufanga) in safety and fourth-round pick Malik Mustapha. Cornerback and second-round pick Renardo Green has also made an impact, while fourth-round pick Jacob Cowing has been one of the team's return specialists and linebacker and seventh-round pick Tatum Bethune has had a role on special teams. Add Pearsall and Guerendo to the mix and this year's draft class is one that has been invaluable from top to bottom.
"We went into this year, we thought it'd be real hard for a lot of the rookies to earn starting positions, just where our team was at," Shanahan said. "But we believed that they were going to give us some real good depth. You hope to have some good luck and stuff and not have to get to that, but we haven't in all areas. And fortunately a lot of those guys are players. They showed it in preseason and when their number's been called, they've all come in and done their job and they all continue to get better too."
With the 49ers now at 4-4 and tied atop the NFC West as they head towards the second half of the season, they'll be hoping the best is yet to come from their rookie class. That may have to be the case, regardless of whether or not the team finds better luck with injuries.
"It's so hard to play as a rookie in the NFL," Warner said. "And all those guys playing at such a high level right now, it's been amazing to see. And they've all come in with the right mindset, following everybody's lead, and we're going to need them in a big way in the second half of the season."
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