When the San Francisco 49ers drafted running back Marcus Lattimore, they knew they’d have a project on their hands.
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A talented collegiate runner, Lattimore suffered a devastating knee injury during his final season at South Carolina and many questioned if he would ever see the field again, let alone be the same player. That allowed the San Francisco 49ers to scoop him up at a relatively cheap price as Lattimore, likely a first-round pick if healthy, fell all the way to the fourth-round.
The team has worked with him during the past season and its believed that he’ll be making his NFL debut at some point this season, hopefully sooner than later as the San Francisco 49ers currently only have two running backs on their 53-man roster.
"Lattimore continues to work out and get stronger every day as he gets paced through a program under the direction of the strength and conditioning staff. He opened the season on the reserve/non-football injury list. He is expected to begin practicing at some point after Week 6. He could eventually be elevated to become the team’s No. 3 running back in the second half of the season."
San Francisco is of course well versed in handling a dealing with a talented running back who suffers a devastating college injury as current tailback and all-time 49ers leading rusher Frank Gore dealt with a similar scenario.
It’s unlikely Lattimore is much of a contributor this season though could very well see extended run next year assuming he remains healthy.