NFL Draft 2023: 49ers Sign Isaiah Winstead After His Video In Field Goes Viral

One day after the draft finished on April 29, Winstead uploaded a highlight video to Twitter that evening. Just over a minute long, the little video garnered over 20,000 likes and 3,000 retweets. Winstead’s video had received millions of views by Tuesday.

NFL Draft 2023: 49ers Sign Isaiah Winstead After His Video In Field Goes Viral

Isaiah Winstead, an East Carolina wide receiver, anticipated hearing his name called during the NFL draft last weekend. It wasn’t, though. Then he imagined that his phone would ring with offers of contracts or invites to rookie minicamps. It didn’t, though.

Thus, on Sunday night, around 24 hours after the draft ended, he shared a straightforward 75-second highlight video on Twitter.

The 49ers eventually learned about the video, so they contacted Winstead and signed him as the 90th member on their roster by Wednesday.

Here is the video that got everything started:

Winstead posted, “6’4 210 moving like this.” “No invitation to mini camp or UDFA agreement. What I can do in the background. This previous season, he has 1100 yards and 88 receptions. Thank you, but please know that God is perfect.

At East Carolina University in 2022, Winstead (6-4, 213) played in 13 games and had 88 catches for 1,085 yards and six touchdowns. He also received All-American Athletic Conference Honorable Mention recognition.

“I’ve never been one to just give up,” Winstead told USA TODAY Sports in a phone interview Thursday. “Don’t feel sorry for me. I’m just going to work. I’m going to get to where I’ve got to go.”

The viral highlight tape, according to 49ers general manager John Lynch, had no influence on the team’s choice to sign Winstead, he claimed in a radio interview on Thursday. He informed San Francisco radio station KNBR that “our scouts had just been on him for some time.”

 

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