Typically the third running back on an NFL roster isn’t a player of much consequence. For the 49ers, a team with injury issues at the position in each of the last few seasons, that spot on the depth chart is pretty important. According to running backs coach Anthony Lynn, there’s one key component that could determine what direction the 49ers go with that spot on game days.
Last season special teams played a sizable role in the 49ers’ running back depth chart. This year the RB group looks significantly different. Christian McCaffrey will be the No. 1 back beginning in Week 1 with Elijah Mitchell behind him. Roster spots beyond that are up for grabs, and according to Lynn, McCaffrey’s arrival has pushed pass catching up the list of priorities for the 49ers running backs.
“You don’t want to have two offenses,” Lynn said via the Athletic. “You don’t want to have Christian come out for a water break and have the next guy come in and have to call (different) plays. So our guys have had to evolve and do more in the passing game.”
2022 third-round pick Tyrion Davis-Price figures to be in the mix for that job. 2022 undrafted rookie Jordan Mason does as well.
Last season Mason regularly got the nod over Davis-Price because of his ability to play special teams. He then 6.0 yards per carry on 43 attempts. Meanwhile, Davis-Price dealt with an injury early last season, never made a mark on special teams, and posted 2.9 yards per carry on 34 attempts.
While all of that would appear to give Mason the edge going into training camp this year, the player who evolves best as a pass catcher is the one liable to work their way into the No. 3 RB role.
That also opens the door for undrafted rookies Khalan Laborn and Ronald Awatt to make their mark, though their climb to a job will be steeper as first-year players.
All of this matters because of what the 49ers have faced injury-wise at RB over the last few seasons. In 2020 the team used six running backs, and only Jerick McKinnon played a full 16-game slate. Jeff Wilson Jr. played in 12 games. No other RB suited up for double-digit contests.
That trend continued in 2021 when Mitchell starred as a rookie, but played in only 11 games. Wilson played in nine, and wide receiver Deebo Samuel finished third on the team in carries with Trey Sermon and Raheem Mostert playing just 10 games combined.
Last year wasn’t much different. Mitchell got hurt in Week 1 and played only five games. Davis-Price dealt with an injury and played only six games. McCaffrey’s arrival helped steady the backfield as he played all 11 games he was in San Francisco for, but he had injury problems of his own in 2020 and 2021.
The 49ers can’t be too careful with their backfield, so having a ton of depth there will be vital. How they choose that depth used to come down to which player ran the best. Now McCaffrey’s multifaceted game has forced the team to find other RBs to do the same. Running will still matter, but the depth chart will likely come down to which player makes the biggest mark in the passing game.