NFC Notes: Kyle Shanahan, Jared Verse, 49ers, Rams, Seahawks

49ers

The 49ers moved up to take RB Isaac Guerendo in the draft despite having arguably the best RB in the league in Christian McCaffrey. San Francisco HC Kyle Shanahan touched on what they liked about Guerendo and why they used additional assets to ensure they could draft him.

“Well we love his speed,” Shanahan said, via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “We think he’s got a lot of speed. All our backs can run, but it’s nice to add one who possibly can run a little bit faster just for the change of pace and things like that. We like his running style. His running style I think is similar to Elijah [Mitchell] and the style that he runs with, he’s built that way and like the 40 that he has.”

“We didn’t make a blanket statement like that. but we wanted to add some speed to the running back room if we could. But you don’t just add that just to add it. It’s got to be the right type of runner with the speed. And there were a couple guys in the back end in the draft who had that. And this is the one we really liked in that way.”

Rams

Before taking DE Jared Verse at pick No. 19, the Rams had an extreme interest in TE Brock Bowers. NFL Network’s Peter Schrager mentioned Los Angeles was trying to move up to get Bowers before the Raiders grabbed him at pick No. 13.

“There was some calls throughout the draft. Those reports were accurate about potentially having a move up,” Schrager said on NFL Network. “The player they had their eyes on if he slipped a little bit was Brock Bowers. So the Rams really fell in love with Brock Bowers, the Georgia tight end, and as he’s plummeting down boards and the quarterbacks are going, there were phone calls made and there was some excitement in that LA building that they might be able to get Brock Bowers and add him to that offense. Turns out they go defense, they love Jared Verse. They’re happy with this selection.”

Seahawks

• When asked about the Seahawks’ long-term plan at quarterback beyond 2025, GM John Schneider responded they acquired Sam Howell and have Geno Smith under contract as well: “We just traded for Sam Howell. He’s got two years left on his contract…Geno’s here. We have a really cool room right now…Sam is a huge part of it, because we made a major trade to get Sam.” (Gregg Bell)
• Schneider said they wanted to move back into the second round but couldn’t find the right deal that made sense. (Bell)
• According to James Palmer, the Seahawks tried to get into the top 10 for Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. 
• Seahawks UDFA DE Nelson Ceasar signed a deal with $110,000 guaranteed, $10,000 of which was a signing bonus. (Aaron Wilson)
• Seahawks UDFA DE Sundiata Anderson signed for $110,000 guaranteed, $10,000 of which was a signing bonus. (Wilson)
• Seahawks UDFA OL Garret Greenfield signed for $195,000 guaranteed, $20,000 of which was a signing bonus. (Wilson)
• Seahawks UDFA TE Jack Westover signed for $75,000 guaranteed, $25,000 of which was a signing bonus. (Wilson)
• Seahawks UDFA LB Easton Gibbs signed for $40,000 guaranteed, including a $20,000 signing bonus and $20,000 in salary guarantees. (Wilson)