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Bleacher Report's Matt Miller reported on Thursday that Central Florida running back Storm Johnson is scheduled to visit with the San Francisco 49ers next Monday. Johnson retweeted the news, which would seem to confirm it. This would mark the third official visit of which we are aware. Georgia State wide receiver WR Albert Wilson is heading to the Bay Area next week, and CB Aaron Colvin told SiriusXM NFL Radio that he has a visit planned with the 49ers.
Johnson actually has a pretty consistent ranking among draft-eligible running backs. Poldarn's consensus rankings list him as the 14th running back, and he is also ranked No. 14 by SB Nation and CBS Sports. ESPN ranks him as the No. 11 running back.
Johnson started his career at Miami, but transferred to UCF after his freshman season. He spent two season with the Knights, and put together strong numbers his red-shirt junior season. He finished the year with 213 rushes for 1,139 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also had 30 receptions for 260 yards and three touchdowns.
CBS projects him as a potential 5th round pick, while NFL.com considers him in the 4-5 range. The question is more about whether the 49ers would invest a draft pick in a running back this year. They have a full stable heading into 2014. Of course, we also don't know the full status of Marcus Lattimore, Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter are both entering the final season of their contracts, and the 49ers seem intent on not actually using LaMichael James beyond his kick returning, and occasionally some garbage time. And let's not forget Jewel Hampton is still hanging around.
I do see the 49ers likely adding a running back in undrafted free agency, but I'm just not sure I see them grabbing one in the draft. If they were to add a running back in the draft, and it's not somebody they would consider injury red-shirting (I don't actually know if there are any such running backs in the draft), it doesn't make a lot of sense to me right now. Of course, a visit doesn't mean the team is going to draft the player. Someone made a good point that of the New England Patriots 30 official visits, and approximately 13 local visits, the team did not draft a single one of the players. So take it how you want.
In the meantime, here's a quick rundown of some of Johnson's pertinent measurements:
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 209 lbs
Arm length: 32"
40-time: 4.60 (Pro Day: 4.54)
Bench Press: 16 (Pro Day: 19)
Vertical: 35 1/2"
Broad: 9'10" (Pro Day: 10'01")
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With The First Pick