All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel joined 49ers Talk host Matt Maiocco at Super Bowl LVI Radio Row and discussed teammates Elijah Mitchell and Trey Lance and what he expects for their future.
General manager John Lynch found a late-round gem when the 49ers selected Elijah Mitchell out of Louisiana at Lafayette in the sixth round (No. 194 overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Mitchell quickly surged up San Francisco’s crowded depth chart at running back after starter Raheem Mostert suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1. Mitchell jumped on the radar of 49ers fans and fantasy football managers alike when he took the reins from Mostert and rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown in his debut.
Former Pro Bowl running back Maurice Jones-Drew knew San Francisco had a special talent in its locker room long before then.
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In a conversation with NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco on the 49ers Talk podcast at Radio Row during Super Bowl week, Jones-Drew spoke about what he saw from Mitchell out of college.
“I actually texted Jon Embree, the old tight ends coach, assistant head coach of the Niners when they drafted him like, ‘Oh, you guys got you a guy,’” Jones-Drew said. “He was one of my top backs in the draft. He had great vision, very explosive. You saw the speed.”
Mitchell posted an unofficial 40-yard dash time of 4.32 seconds at Louisiana’s pro day before the draft. In four seasons with the Ragin' Cajuns, Mitchell averaged 6.2 yards per carry and racked up 3,267 rushing yards and 46 total touchdowns.
“When he ran, he ran as if he looked like he weighed 200 pounds, but he weighed 215 pounds,” Jones-Drew said. “He was a guy that you knew could break tackles. He was elusive. He could do a lot of good things. And he ran that zone system at Louisiana.”
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Mitchell played 11 games for San Francisco and set a franchise rookie record with 963 rushing yards. He did so in spite of fellow rookie Trey Sermon, selected three rounds earlier, sharing the running backs’ room.
“When the Niners drafted Trey Sermon, [I was] a little concerned about him because Trey Sermon didn’t have the burst I thought you needed to run that system, the system I ran in college and a little bit in the pros,” Jones-Drew said. “So, you kind of saw what Elijah Mitchell was in college. He did the exact same thing in the pros.”
Take it from the three-time Pro Bowler and former De La Salle High School star -- the 49ers have themselves a star in the backfield.
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