Top 5 position battles 49ers have after 2022 NFL Draft

49ers position battle No. 3: Running back

Players in the mix: Tyrion Davis-Price*, JaMycal Hasty, Jordan Mason*, Elijah Mitchell, Trey Sermon, Jeff Wilson Jr.

There’s no doubting the reality the Niners’ first of two third-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft was the most questionable, grabbing Tyrion Davis-Price out of LSU at No. 93 overall.

For starters, many felt Davis-Price was a reach at that point in the draft, and San Francisco already had a fairly well-stocked running back room in the first place, particularly with last year’s rookie, Elijah Mitchell, poised to start in 2022 after setting a franchise record for a first-year pro with 963 rush yards the season prior.

However, Mitchell’s injury history from last year is concerning, and everyone returning from last year’s halfback crop dealt with some sort of injury in 2021, too.

So, from that vantage point, restocking with Davis-Price makes some sense.

Yet the addition isn’t necessarily great news for the other depth members on the 49ers roster, particularly fellow second-year pro Trey Sermon, whose 167 rush yards in 2021 failed to justify the Niners spending a third-round pick on him.

Sermon’s roster spot might be safer than someone like JaMycal Hasty, yes, but the former’s role is surely going to take a hit because of Davis-Price regardless.

Either way, look for players like Sermon, Hasty and Jeff Wilson Jr. to have a proverbial fire lighted underneath them this offseason.