Which 49ers' potential 'legacy' draft picks would be the best fit?
Which son or brother of a current or former 49ers player is the best fit via the 2024 NFL Draft?
The San Francisco 49ers enter the 2024 NFL Draft with a unique opportunity to draft a player who is related to a current or former Niners.
The son of Jerry Rice, the son of Frank Gore, the son of Terrell Owens, and the brother of Christian McCaffrey are all available in the draft.
Who among these players is the best fit, though?
The 49ers have a number of needs going into this draft, namely the offensive line and certain defensive positions. One area where they do not have much need is with their offensive skill positions. All of these legacy players are offensive skill players, so there is not an overwhelming need for San Francisco to select any of them.
The 49ers seem fairly set at both the running back and wide receiver positions, barring any big shake-ups. But there could be room for the Niners to select one of these players.
We will survey the players and rank them in terms of worst to best fit.
Let's start with the worst fit.
Worst Fit: Running back Frank Gore Jr.
Frank Gore Jr. looks like he has the skills to be a solid running back in the NFL just like his father, but it most likely will not happen with the 49ers.
At Southern Miss, he rushed for over 1,000 yards in his last two years and had 19 rushing touchdowns in those two seasons.
He is built similarly to his father in that he is a smaller back with a lower center of gravity. That could make him difficult to bring down and better able to slip through tackles in the NFL.
However, it seems unlikely (but not impossible) the Niners will draft a running back this year. They already have the best running back in the NFL with McCaffrey, a very solid (although oft-injured) backup in Elijah Mitchell, and a young back who showed promise and may be a potential kick returner in Jordan Mason.
Plus, they just signed running back Patrick Taylor as another depth piece. If the 49ers drafted Gore Jr., then they would be forced to cut one of these players, which they probably do not want to do. Gore will probably find a good home on a team that has a need at running back.
Now, let's move on to two players who may be slightly better fits.