The San Francisco 49ers will be without running back Frank Gore this year for the first time since 2005. Gore, 31, was allowed to leave in free agency, ultimately signing with the Indianapolis Colts and leaving last year's second-rounder Carlos Hyde atop San Fran's RB depth chart. Hyde didn't see too much action last year - just 83 carries for 333 yards and four touchdowns - but the Niners are impressed with his speed.
The only problem is that Hyde was drafted under a previous head coach, and even though he's in the team's plans, it wouldn't be a total shock to see GM Trent Baalke add another rusher in tonight's NFL Draft. Georgia's Todd Gurley may even be in play, according to ESPN NFL Draft Insider Mel Kiper Jr.
"Why they take him: Because they're taking the best player available and they've been willing to be patient on players with injury concerns before. Gurley and Carlos Hyde is a special backfield," Kiper wrote in his final Mock Draft.
Gurley is still recovering from a torn ACL suffered in November. Teams must be wary of an injury such as that, even though Gurley checked out medically recently. When healthy, he is the top back in this year's draft class. He ran for 911 yards and nine touchdowns in just six games last season while also posting a 7.4 yards-per-carry average.
But is No. 15 overall too high for a running back? No ball carrier has been selected in the first round of the draft since 2012, when Trent Richardson, Doug Martin and David Wilson all went in the top 32. If each team had a redo, they would have likely gone in a different direction.
"Why they pass: They could feel it's just too rich for a running back, and WR, CB, and DE are all needs that could be addressed here given what's available. They can add a LB later."
