West Virginia running back Cam Cook is the kind of player who can pop on a scout’s screen fast. He brings elite short-area quickness, real wiggle in space, and the kind of vision that makes him a name to circle for the 2027 NFL Draft. For the 49ers, he’s at least a player worth filing away for next offseason.
This is summer scouting, though, and that matters. The point here isn’t to stamp Cook as a finished evaluation or say San Francisco has to draft him.
Too much can change once the season starts. The idea is simpler: identify a talented back now and keep watching him as the year unfolds, because he could be back in the conversation next April.
Cook is listed at five-foot-nine, 200 pounds, and he’s already made his mark in a winding college journey. He spent two seasons at TCU before transferring to Jacksonville State, where he exploded onto the national stage.
In 2024, he led the nation with 1,650 rushing yards and scored 16 touchdowns. After that, he hit the portal again and ended up at West Virginia, giving him a chance to show what he can do on a bigger stage.
What jumps out first is his suddenness. Cook can accelerate in a flash, then shut it down just as quickly, and defenders who aren’t on his level look stuck in place.
He’s also extremely hard to finish off - he forced 101 missed tackles last year - and while he’s not a power back who is going to run through people, he’s loaded with evasive answers. Jukes, spins, all of it is in the bag.
A lot of his production starts before he even reaches the line of scrimmage. Cook is patient, lets blocks develop, and keeps his eyes moving across the field.
Once he spots a lane, he can hit it with enough burst to get through before the defense has time to recover. That’s how he turns ordinary-looking runs into chunk gains and makes tacklers chase from behind.
The challenge now is proving that package works in a bigger league. He showed he can dominate in Conference USA, but the Big 12 will ask more of him.
Scouts want to see whether the speed and elusiveness still translate when the defenders are faster and the pursuit closes quicker. That’s the difference between hearing his name in the second round and seeing it slide all the way to the seventh.
For San Francisco, the fit is easy to understand. Christian McCaffrey is 30 years old, and Kyle Shanahan has to think about what comes next.
The 49ers do have younger backs in the mix - 2025 third-round pick Kaelon Black, second-year player Jordan James, and 2024 draftee Isaac Guerendo - but none of them has much production yet. That leaves room for another option to enter the picture next offseason.
If Cook keeps building on what he already showed, don’t be surprised if he becomes part of that discussion. His suddenness, vision, and ability to make defenders miss give him the kind of upside that can move a running back up boards in a hurry.
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