When taking a look at the San Francisco 49ers’ roster, it is hard to find many weaknesses. They are loaded across the board on both sides of the ball, which is why they are considered among the contenders in the NFC.
Several positional groups stand out because there are players who are among the highest paid at their respective positions. Being the highest paid doesn’t necessarily mean that you are the best, but in the case of the 49ers, that happens to correlate.
They have multiple players near the top of their position’s annual average payment lists. One of those players is running back Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey has been stellar for the San Francisco 49ers since they acquired him in a trade from the Carolina Panthers during the 2022 season.
His presence on the roster, in the opinion of Marcus Mosher of The 33rd Team, is why San Francisco lands at the No. 1 spot in his running back room power rankings.
“The San Francisco 49ers don’t have much depth at running back, but they finish at No. 1 because they have the league’s clear-cut top back.
Since joining the 49ers in 2022, Christian McCaffrey has averaged 119.8 yards per game and has scored 31 touchdowns in 27 regular season games. It also helps that McCaffrey has managed to play at least 16 games in the last two seasons, quieting some of the injury concerns. Look for Elijah Mitchell to get a chance to be the primary backup, but keep an eye out for Jordan Mason to eventually take that job,” Mosher.
It is interesting that Mosher says the 49ers don’t have much depth in their running back room. Elijah Mitchell, when healthy, has been an excellent change of pace back behind McCaffrey.
Before he was acquired, Mitchell looked more than capable of handling the starting running back job. As a rookie in 2021, Mitchell averaged 4.7 yards per carry and upped that to 6.2 in 2022 playing a complementary role behind McCaffrey.
Jordan Mason hasn’t had a ton of opportunities in his career, carrying the ball 83 times in his first two seasons, 33 games total, combined. But he makes the most of his chances, gaining 464 yards with four touchdowns.
There isn’t anyone in the NFL who could replace McCaffrey on an individual basis. But, should something happen to him, the San Francisco 49ers likely feel comfortable with the combination of Mitchell and Mason handling the backfield work.
The only issue that would likely arise is in the passing game. Mitchell and Mason have combined for 31 receptions in their career. McCaffrey is a massive part of Kyle Shanahan’s passing game and the team would have to figure out a way to compensate for that loss.
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