The NFL Combine is in full swing as we are already on to our third day of arrivals. The first day arrivals will be meeting with the NFL Players Association and conducting a variety of interviews. That NFLPA meeting will be interesting for the rookies give how their salaries are a major issue in these negotiations. Yesterday running backs, quarterbacks and wide receivers all reported to the Combine. Today features the defensive front seven as defensive linemen and linebackers report to Indianapolis.
Speaking of running backs, 49ers GM Trent Baalke spoke with the media yesterday afternoon and was asked briefly about Frank Gore:
On whether RB Frank Gore is still described as a "bell cow" player like he was in the past:
"Well Frank's definitely a bell cow. He's a heck of a football player and a heck of a young man. But coach has come out and said, ‘We're going to take every advantage of using Frank like we have over the years, but we're also going to develop some young guys.' We got another one in [RB] Anthony Dixon who we're very high on and obviously we're going to look to supplement that position moving forward. Whether that's through free agency or the draft or a potential trade, one of those three scenarios is going to land us another running back."
We don't know what will happen with free agency and trades, so for now we can only focus on the NFL Draft. Will the 49ers add a running back via the draft? Scouts Inc ranked the running backs as the Combine gets going. I've placed the top 11 after the jump. I went with 11 because I wanted to include Cal RB Shane Vereen in the rankings. Mark Ingram appears to be the clear number one at this point, but if the 49ers are going to grab a running back it would seem to be somewhere in the fifth or sixth round as a flier. Does anybody see the 49ers grabbing a running back earlier?
Name, School - Scouts Inc rating
1. Mark Ingram, Alabama - 92
2. Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech - 89
3. Mikel Leshoure, Illinois - 84
4. Daniel Thomas, Kansas State - 81
5. Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State - 79
6. Demarco Murray, Oklahoma - 77
7. Jordan Todman, Connecticut - 75
8. Derrick Locke, Kentucky - 71
9. Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon State - 70
10. Stevan Ridley, LSU - 69
11. Shane Vereen, Cal - 68