Top 10 sleepers for 49ers heading into 2023 NFL Draft
By Peter Panacy
![DeMarvion Overshown #0 of the Texas Longhorns (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) DeMarvion Overshown #0 of the Texas Longhorns (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/4716e4fb862579201813ce0ac751026f40f5e892b1bdfc8ea6870e017da4d8e4.jpg)
player. 932. . Running Back. Pirates . Keaton Mitchell. 3
49ers NFL Draft sleeper target No. 3: RB Keaton Mitchell, East Carolina
The 49ers better not invest yet another third-round pick on a running back after doing so (and failing) the last two seasons.
That said, they could still supplement the position despite adding All-Pro Christian McCaffrey and making him their bell cow in 2022 and for the foreseeable future.
Fellow tailback Elijah Mitchell is often injured, and Tyrion Davis-Price was virtually a non-factor after being a third-round rookie last season. Only the undrafted 2022 rookie, Jordan Mason, has enough hype behind McCaffrey.
East Carolina’s Keaton Mitchell is a perfect Kyle Shanahan-type running back, possessing the ability to catch passes out of the backfield while also operating well within a zone-style blocking speed.
The biggest trait, though? Speed. He ran a 4.37 40-yard time at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Likely a fifth- or sixth-round pick, Shanahan’s love of speed could make Mitchell the next sleeper tailback the Niners seemingly find every year.