Time for Marcus Lattimore to Take Over in 49ers Backfield (if he can)

San Francisco came with a game of returning to the Super Bowl only to fall to the Seattle Seahawks, and as much as that has to suck it's okay. With the way the 49ers are built they are going to be back next year and just as competitive if not more so. The defense will still be tough and the offense should become even better in Colin Kaepernick's third season (second full) as the starting quarterback.

One of last year's draft picks should go a long way towards making that happen--former South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore.

Lattimore was drafted in the fourth round of the 2013 draft. Had he not had his knee destroyed during his final college season he would have likely gone a lot higher, but the fact that the 49ers still drafted him in one of the middle rounds goes to show how much his skill and talent is respected.

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Of course the big question will be whether he is going to still have the speed and explosiveness he had when he was healthy. After tearing a knee ligament during the '11 season he looked fine up until getting hurt in the '12 season, but that injury was much more severe.

He isn't the first player to have such an injury of course, and there have been others with similar injuries that went on to have strong careers in the NFL (i.e. Willis McGahee).

Should he be just fine he will be in a perfect position to carve out a significant role in the 49ers offense. Frank Gore is going to be 30--the witching age for running backs when talent and ability starts to go down hill. The team will likely be looking to reduce his role in order to keep him healthy.

With Lattimore expected to be ready to participate in OTA's he'll be in good position to be take that role (and if he does well maybe more).

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