49ers roster: Tyrion Davis-Price won’t be a washout draft pick

Why Tyrion Davis-Price thrives with 49ers his rookie year

Head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense is still a run-first system despite transitioning over to second-year quarterback Trey Lance.

That means players like Trey Sermon, Elijah Mitchell and Tyrion Davis-Price will get their touches, especially with the Niners looking to avoid using All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel as a rushing option too frequently.

And there’s one play in particular that put Davis-Price on San Francisco’s watch list, as broken down by The Athletic’s Matt Barrows (h/t Kyle Madson of Niners Wire):

"The 49ers saw that zip on film, particularly during LSU’s game against Alabama on Nov. 6. On the 63rd play, Davis-Price broke across the line of scrimmage and within 15 yards hit his highest speed of the season, which according to the 49ers, was among the top five speeds of any of the runners in the draft. The burst caught their attention. “A lot of times, guys reach higher speeds because they have the opportunity,” assistant general manager Adam Peters said. “They maybe aren’t as fast as other guys, but because they have the opportunity to run 60 yards in a straight line they reach a high speed. (Davis-Price) reaching his top speed in a short amount of space is more impressive.”"

Outside of trying to placate Samuel, who is reportedly frustrated with his role as a “wide back,” there’s another reason why Davis-Price actually makes a lot of sense for Shanahan’s offense.

ESPN’s Nick Wagoner broke this down:

"To wit: The 49ers ranked 29th in the league in third-down run conversion percentage, gaining a first down on just 42.4% of their rushing attempts on third down. On handoffs to running backs, their conversion rate of 42.1% was last in the NFL on fourth or third-and-3 or fewer. They averaged 2.3 yards per carry on third-and-2 or fewer yards, which ranked 26th in the NFL. In 2021, Davis-Price had 36 carries for 153 yards and two touchdowns on third or fourth down. From that, he went for 111 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries when the Tigers faced third or fourth down with 3 or fewer yards to go."

Short-yardage situations were problematic for Shanahan and Co. a year ago, and the thinking here is Davis-Price will help in this regard.

And judging by the physicality element needed in these situations, one might argue the 6-foot-1, 232-pound tailback might be a bruising-type rusher who actually starts games, too.

Still, analysts were bearish on the selection anyway, and we have to explore why.