The San Francisco 49ers were connected to standout Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo in the lead up to the 2025 NFL Draft. Skattebo himself thought San Francisco was going to pick him, but he ended up going to the New York Giants.
In a recent appearance on a podcast, Skattebo said he thought the Niners were going to take him with the No. 100 overall pick in the third round. Instead, San Francisco selected cornerback Upton Stout as part of their attempt to revamp the defense.
Skattebo was one of several interesting offensive playmakers with ties to Northern California who were still available for the 49ers, but they opted to go in a different direction.
The Rio Linda native began his collegiate career at Sacramento State before transferring to Arizona State in his junior year. As a senior he shone for the Sun Devils as he rushed for 1,711 yards with 21 rushing touchdowns and had a legendary performance in the Peach Bowl against Texas.
Running back was not exactly a pressing need going into the draft for the Niners considering they have one of the best running backs in the NFL in Christian McCaffrey. However, with all of the injuries the team experienced at running back last year it would have made some amount of sense to try and add another dependable back in case the injury bug strikes again in 2025.
Ultimately, the 49ers ended up drafting Jordan James out of the University of Oregon and they also added running back Corey Kiner as an undrafted free agent. Some of the best running back finds for the Niners under head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have been undrafted free agents like Matt Breida or Jordan Mason, so perhaps San Francisco was wise to not pick Skattebo in Round 3. It reached on running back Trey Sermon in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and he didn't even last a full year with the Niners.
It would have been cool to see Skattebo in a 49ers uniform given his ties to Northern California and the fact that he looked like an absolute beast with ASU last season. While Skattebo did not say it, he probably would have liked going to a potential playoff team like the 49ers rather than the Giants who are team rebuilding.
We know New York likes to trade away awfully good running backs as evidenced by their infamous trade of Saquon Barkley to the Philadelphia Eagles. Maybe in a few years when McCaffrey is no longer on the Niners, San Francisco can swing a trade for Skattebo to replace him.
For now, the 49ers will have to make do with McCaffrey and Co. in the backfield.
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