49ers select Kaelon Black, RB, Indiana at no. 90

Originally posted by Chance:

Originally posted by Heroism:

Dope. He performed about as well as one could have hoped. I'm stoked for the kid, er, sorry he's 24, old man.

Originally posted by Heroism:

Originally posted by ninersrule4:
I see two very different run styles. People with the Gore comp are spot on. He runs nothing like CMC.

I don't see much Frank Gore in Kaelon Black either. Frank had elite lateral agility and jump cut ability that made him incredibly difficult to square up. That CB who tackled Black yesterday has zero chance of making that open-field tackle on Franky G--Frank one cuts him straight out of his cleats. Frank was also incredibly slippery and crafty. He manipulated pursuit angles, understood when to avoid contact and rarely took a hit he didn't have to. KB is much more linear and tends to run straight into people. I think Frank in general was just a much more cerebral runner while Kaelon Black runs more on instincts.

Kaelon Black=Kyle Monangai. This is a glimpse of Kaelon Black punishing Rams defenders.

You don't need to watch Kyle Monangai runs, you can just listen to them 😳 pic.twitter.com/Q0cTC8ISm5

— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) January 19, 2026

Originally posted by Chance:

Originally posted by Heroism:

Originally posted by ninersrule4:
I see two very different run styles. People with the Gore comp are spot on. He runs nothing like CMC.

I don't see much Frank Gore in Kaelon Black either. Frank had elite lateral agility and jump cut ability that made him incredibly difficult to square up. That CB who tackled Black yesterday has zero chance of making that open-field tackle on Franky G--Frank one cuts him straight out of his cleats. Frank was also incredibly slippery and crafty. He manipulated pursuit angles, understood when to avoid contact and rarely took a hit he didn't have to. KB is much more linear and tends to run straight into people. I think Frank in general was just a much more cerebral runner while Kaelon Black runs more on instincts.

Kaelon Black=Kyle Monangai. This is a glimpse of Kaelon Black punishing Rams defenders.

You don't need to watch Kyle Monangai runs, you can just listen to them 😳 pic.twitter.com/Q0cTC8ISm5

— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) January 19, 2026

I feel like Kaelon has lateral agility in spades. As pointed out by Kyle Posey, Black just waited too long to juke. Multiple people have noted his cuts in camp. And his SB drills show a guy who explodes out of cuts. I think you're underestimating what kind of runner he could be. Heck, the move he put on to get back to the line of scrimmage on the zero gain was pretty nasty, but that's just scratching the surface.

Originally posted by Chance:
I feel like Kaelon has lateral agility in spades. As pointed out by Kyle Posey, Black just waited too long to juke. Multiple people have noted his cuts in camp. And his SB drills show a guy who explodes out of cuts. I think you're underestimating what kind of runner he could be. Heck, the move he put on to get back to the line of scrimmage on the zero gain was pretty nasty, but that's just scratching the surface.

Originally posted by Heroism:

Originally posted by Chance:
I feel like Kaelon has lateral agility in spades. As pointed out by Kyle Posey, Black just waited too long to juke. Multiple people have noted his cuts in camp. And his SB drills show a guy who explodes out of cuts. I think you're underestimating what kind of runner he could be. Heck, the move he put on to get back to the line of scrimmage on the zero gain was pretty nasty, but that's just scratching the surface.

Just to be clear: he looked very good, and I'm excited about what he can bring to the Niners. I was just specifically talking within the context of comparing him to Frank Gore. I don't see that, and that's fine. He doesn't have to be Frank to be great.

Originally posted by ninerjok:

Originally posted by Niner4ever:
Like I said, guy is hard nosed.

He's everything McCaffrey is not and visa versa.

Great complement to CMc

After a small sample size in one preseason game, come on are you serious. I was definitely impressed by Black but to say he's everything McCaffrey's not is some overreaction. If anything my impression was he was emulating how McCaffrey plays the position as a mentor.

Originally posted by Chance:

Originally posted by Heroism:

Originally posted by Chance:
I feel like Kaelon has lateral agility in spades. As pointed out by Kyle Posey, Black just waited too long to juke. Multiple people have noted his cuts in camp. And his SB drills show a guy who explodes out of cuts. I think you're underestimating what kind of runner he could be. Heck, the move he put on to get back to the line of scrimmage on the zero gain was pretty nasty, but that's just scratching the surface.

Just to be clear: he looked very good, and I'm excited about what he can bring to the Niners. I was just specifically talking within the context of comparing him to Frank Gore. I don't see that, and that's fine. He doesn't have to be Frank to be great.

I hear you. I wasn't comparing him to Frank. I just think Black has some explosive moves out of cuts. The senior bowl practice tape was eye opening for me. I don't really love people always trying to force a comparison either way. Let the man be himself, dammit!

Originally posted by Chance:

Originally posted by Chance:

Originally posted by Heroism:

Originally posted by Chance:
I feel like Kaelon has lateral agility in spades. As pointed out by Kyle Posey, Black just waited too long to juke. Multiple people have noted his cuts in camp. And his SB drills show a guy who explodes out of cuts. I think you're underestimating what kind of runner he could be. Heck, the move he put on to get back to the line of scrimmage on the zero gain was pretty nasty, but that's just scratching the surface.

Just to be clear: he looked very good, and I'm excited about what he can bring to the Niners. I was just specifically talking within the context of comparing him to Frank Gore. I don't see that, and that's fine. He doesn't have to be Frank to be great.

I hear you. I wasn't comparing him to Frank. I just think Black has some explosive moves out of cuts. The senior bowl practice tape was eye opening for me. I don't really love people always trying to force a comparison either way. Let the man be himself, dammit!

Just to add to the thoughts above. Gore had a type of fluidity to his hips and slipperiness to his movement that Black will never have. Black, however, has lateral explosiveness and the agility to change direction on a dime. To say he is not a a jump cut guy, imo, is not supported by his tape.

Originally posted by ninerjok:

Originally posted by Niner4ever:
Like I said, guy is hard nosed.

He's everything McCaffrey is not and visa versa.

Great complement to CMc

After a small sample size in one preseason game, come on are you serious. I was definitely impressed by Black but to say he's everything McCaffrey's not is some overreaction. If anything my impression was he was emulating how McCaffrey plays the position as a mentor.

Originally posted by 49ers808:

Originally posted by Niner4ever:
Agree with all except that Mitchell wasn't that good with vision running imo.

What? Bro Mitchell literally carried the offense his rookie season and was a freaking stud; can't do that with poor vision.

Originally posted by Heroism:
I don't see much Frank Gore in Kaelon Black either. Frank had elite lateral agility and jump cut ability that made him incredibly difficult to square up. That CB who tackled Black yesterday has zero chance of making that open-field tackle on Franky G--Frank one cuts him straight out of his cleats. Frank was also incredibly slippery and crafty. He manipulated pursuit angles, understood when to avoid contact and rarely took a hit he didn't have to.

Originally posted by Niner4ever:
Not my debate and I like Black and think he'll be a great complement.

But, agree that Gore was elite.

Originally posted by Rockchalk_Seahawk:
I know right. Black is an average back, comparing him to Gore is crazy talk

Originally posted by Rockchalk_Seahawk:

Originally posted by Niner4ever:
Not my debate and I like Black and think he'll be a great complement.

But, agree that Gore was elite.

I know right. Black is an average back, comparing him to Gore is crazy talk