When the San Francisco 49ers made LaMichael James their selection in the second round, it created immediate speculation on the running back depth chart. More than that, it led folks to question if the 49ers were unhappy with any of their players at the position, and whether or not this spelled the end for anybody currently on the roster. The answer to that question is very simple: only if that aforementioned player can't compete.
The 49ers are a complete team, and they're not drafting for need anywhere in the draft. They're not saying, "look, we need a running back now," after taking a look at the roster. General manager Trent Baalke said it best in a conference following the selection, courtesy of Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area:
"This isn't an indictment on the players we had," Baalke added. "This was an opportunity to add a very good football player to the 49ers and create more competition."
Frank Gore, Kendall Hunter, Brandon Jacobs and Anthony Dixon need only to worry if they aren't up for a competition. San Francisco didn't evaluate the running back position and decided to draft James, they simply felt James was the best player on the board and took that opportunity to bring him in. In the first round, the 49ers were probably satisfied with their offseason additions of Mario Manningham and Randy Moss, but still went with their best player available in A.J. Jenkins.
You can bet, if the 49ers were set at pass rusher heading into the 2011 NFL Draft, they still would have drafted Aldon Smith at No. 7, too. Because that's how they roll.