Chris Foerster explains why Tyrion-Davis Price is poised to take a leap in year two

Tyrion Davis-Price might not have made a significant impact in his rookie season, but he appears poised to make a jump heading into year two.

49ers run game coordinator Chris Foerster shared an encouraging outlook on Davis-Price’s progress and why there is reason for optimism as he looks to carve out a role in a crowded backfield.

“He looks great,” said Foerster as he spoke to the media before Friday’s practice. “Guys between their first and second year make one of the biggest jumps. They know what to expect, they know what camp is going to be like, they know what their shortfalls were, they went through a whole offseason of being corrected on things they needed to work on, they come back after camp and they are ready to go.”

After being selected with a third-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft, Davis-Price tallied just 34 carries for 99 yards across six games. Foerster then went into detail about what areas Davis-Price needed to work on coming off of a rookie season that left a lot to be desired:

“The whole process, learning how to be a professional, how to come into work everyday. The consistency factor, and he works very very hard, he’s a very hard worker, sometimes you get behind the eight ball early and it just doesn’t all ever make sense over the course of the year, and having the chance to sit back, relearn it in the offseason, and then get back out there and apply it during the season can really be helpful. So he’s done a really good job with that.”

They were encouraging words about the continued progress of a player that had plenty of promise coming out of LSU just a little over one year ago. During his final collegiate season, Davis-Price racked up over 1,000 rushing yards on a highly efficient 4.8 yards per carry.

He shined in particular when running through contact, breaking 37 tackles for the season while averaging 2.8 yards after contact per carry. Despite doing this in a very tough conference, Davis-Price faced a significant adjustment in transitioning from the SEC to the NFL.

Foerster touched on this, while also providing details on where Davis-Price is making noticeable strides in the early stages of his second NFL training camp:

“Also some of his open field running and things like that, just making the adjustment from college to the NFL. He’s a good, hard, tough runner. But again, a little bit of the elusiveness, hitting the holes with more consistency, like with speed and trusting knowing what he’s looking for, knowing what he sees and doing those things, its all coming together for him.”

Given how 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan utilizes a committee approach in the backfield, it is easy to envision a path to a sizable role for Davis-Price in his sophomore season. There is still a long way to go before anything is definitive, but hearing that he is taking strides in the right direction is promising.