The 49ers invested third-round draft picks in back-to-back seasons on running backs.
And neither made an impact with the club before moving on to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Ty Davis-Price, a third-round pick of the 49ers from the 2022 NFL Draft, signed a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, his representation reported via social media on Tuesday.
The 49ers selected running back Trey Sermon in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft. When the 49ers cut Sermon at the end of the training camp in 2022, the Eagles claimed him off waivers.
Davis-Price, the No. 93 overall pick in the 2022 draft, appeared in just seven games for the 49ers. Undrafted running back Jordan Mason beat him out for playing time in their rookie seasons.
Then, Davis-Price fell further down the depth chart with the midseason trade for Christian McCaffrey.
Davis-Price’s career with the 49ers consisted of 120 yards rushing and no touchdowns on 40 rushing attempts.
The 49ers waived Davis-Price on Dec. 5 to create space on their 53-man roster to sign veteran defensive back Logan Ryan. When Davis-Price cleared waivers, the 49ers re-signed him to the practice squad, where he spent the rest of the season.
The 49ers have gotten very little — or nothing at all — from most of the running backs they drafted since 2017. Joe Williams, selected in the fourth round of 2017, never appeared in a regular-season game.
Elijah Mitchell has been the best draft pick among running backs. Mitchell, a sixth-round pick in 2021, led the team in rushing as a rookie. He has been a solid backup behind McCaffrey but has struggled to remain on the field due to injuries.
Sermon’s short tenure with the 49ers consisted of nine games with 167 yards and a touchdown on 41 rushing attempts.
He played just two games for the Eagles in 2022, then moved on to the Indianapolis Colts last season. He had 35 carries for 160 yards for the Colts last season while appearing in 14 games.
McCaffrey, Mitchell and Mason are the only running backs currently on the 49ers’ roster.
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