Why the 49ers' Most Important Rookie This Year is Kaelon Black

To make it back to the Super Bowl this upcoming season, the 49ers will need at least one of their rookies to play extremely well. Ideally, that rookie will be running back Kaelon Black.

He didn't even get invited to the Combine, but the 49ers ranked him second among running backs on their draft board and took him in Round 3 because they couldn't bear the thought of some other team taking him. And because they desperately need a No. 2 running back they trust.

Last season, Christian McCaffrey touched the ball a whopping 450 times, including the postseason. And in June, he'll turn 30. Which means the 49ers will manage his touches and he'll share time with another running back, or they continue to overuse him and he'll get injured. Either way, the backup running back should get lots of playing time this year.

And Black seems like the favorite to back up McCaffrey. His competition is Jordan James and Isaac Guerendo, two running backs who combined for a grand total of zero carries during the regular season last year. If the 49ers wanted to play either of those two this season, they probably wouldn't have taken Black in Round 3.

The 49ers know they need to improve their running game. This weekend, Kyle Shanahan said the goal is for the run game to rank in the top 10 in the NFL. Well, last season it ranked 30th out of 32 teams in terms of yards per carry. It was awful. And all they did to improve to the run game this offseason was draft Black.

So, if Black can run the ball 10 to 15 times per game and average roughly 5 yards per carry, the 49ers will be tough to beat. If he can't get on the field like all the other running backs the 49ers have drafted in Round 3, the running game will stink, and the 49ers will lose to teams that have great defenses. Black needs to produce right away.

As opposed to second-round pick De'Zhaun Stribling, who currently is behind four veteran wide receivers on the depth chart, and probably will make his biggest impact in 2026 as a gunner on special teams.

Or Romello Height, who will play only on third downs as a designated edge-rusher.

Or Carver Willis, who will probably won't play much as a rookie. And if he does play, he most likely won't be an upgrade over the players the 49ers had at left guard last season.

Or Gracen Halton, who should play in a rotation along the defensive line, but probably won't see many snaps.

When OTAs kick off this Thursday, keep in mind that Black is the rookie with the most pressure on him right now.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/49ers/onsi as Why the 49ers' Most Important Rookie This Year is Kaelon Black.

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This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 2:00 PM.