The NFL moves fast, and the San Francisco 49ers presented a great example of that with their first pick in the fifth round during Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft.
With the ninth pick in the fifth round, acquired in the offseason trade of wide receiver Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders, the Niners selected Oregon running back Jordan James, a move seemingly signed off on by a very popular former 49er now working in the team's front office.
The move made sense for multiple reasons. Most glaringly, the team lacks depth behind Christian McCaffrey, having traded away Jordan Mason in the early stages of the new league year.
Beyond that, though, it's a stark reminder of how quickly the NFL world turns, and one 49er will be feeling the heat following the pick.
Isaac Guerendo could be under threat by Jordan James
It's only a year or so since I was writing a similar article about San Francisco's acquisition of then-Louisville running back prospect Isaac Guerendo. Joining a running back room that then featured McCaffrey, Mason, and Elijah Mitchell, Guerendo could've reasonably expected some time to develop and learn, particularly given his fairly short college career.
That didn't happen.
Thanks to a myriad of injuries, Mitchell wasn't seen at all, while McCaffrey missed a significant chunk of the season before returning, only to reinjure himself again rather seriously against the Buffalo Bills.
That led to Guerendo being pushed into a starting spot very early, and while he did OK, his 420 rushing yards were hard-earned: he seemed to have some trouble grasping the scheme, and particularly struggled in pass blocking, something running backs coach Bobby Turner is known to covet amongst his starting runners.
That combined with some injury trouble of his own led to only three starts, and his hold on the backup job going into the offseason, even after Mason was traded, could've best been described as tenuous.
Well, it just got a lot more tenuous.
James has some work to do, but in many ways he represents a much more polished product than Guerendo did out of college. He's not the same athlete by any stretch of the imagination, but he runs with purpose and power, while also being a useful set of hands out of the backfield.
That's something neither Guerendo nor the departed Mason ever became, and it greatly handicapped the offense throughout the 2024 season.
More crucially, James has shown great affinity as a pass protector, being a solid wall in picking up blitzers throughout his time in Eugene. That's another thing that the team values greatly, and another place where James separates himself not only from most rookie runners entering the league, but most backups on San Francisco's roster.
It's not doom and gloom for Guerendo, as he's still an exceptional athletic talent, but the selection of a hard-nosed runner with good hands and good pass protecting abilities by the team to compete for playing time with him is likely a massive nudge to the young speedster that he needs to take a significant step forward in his sophmore season.
Let's hope he responds, because the more options the 49ers have out of the backfield, the stronger their offense is likely to be.