Giants' star Cam Skattebo almost became a 49er: 'Kyle [Shanahan] loved him'

Remember when a homeless man told Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam to draft Johnny Manziel? Or when the Minnesota Vikings missed their No. 7 overall pick in 2003? Just this past draft, we watched wide receiver Makai Lemon speak with Pittsburgh Steelers executives on the phone, only for him to be stolen away by the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 20 overall.

The "almost drafted" stories are fantastic. What would the NFL look like if the New Orleans Saints got Patrick Mahomes at No. 11 back in 2017? Or if the New York Giants selected Josh Allen at No. 2 overall in 2018?

This week, we discovered a pretty interesting "almost drafted" story centered around running back Cam Skattebo. When Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Saleh, who faces Skattebo this week, was asked what he thought about New York's young star running back, he said he really liked the player. In fact, when he was the defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers, the franchise was aiming to draft him in the fourth round before the Giants stole him away.

"He's cool, man, I like him," Saleh said with a laugh. "He's like the old-school 2010 Madden hit stick, lower your shoulder, run people over. Plays his ass off, lots of energy.

I know going into the draft ... we were actually about to draft him in San Francisco. Kyle [Shanahan] loved him, and he ended up getting taken right before we were picking, and I think we ended up with CJ West, who's a pretty damn good player too. But he's a spark plug." #Giants drafted Cam Skattebo at No. 105Robert Saleh says #Niners wouldve taken him at 113 because Kyle Shanahan ‘loved him’ pic.twitter.com/fTlQqOW3wE Skattebo went just eight picks before the 49ers allegedly tried to grab him.

I guess general manager John Lynch should have traded up. Or the 49ers could have selected him five picks earlier at No. 100 overall, where they picked Western Kentucky cornerback Upton Stout. Sure, there are probably instances where coaches and executives lie about these "almost drafted" stories.