Do the 49ers Have the Best Running Back Room in the NFL?
Acquiring Christian McCaffrey was easily the best player transaction the 49ers made in 2022.
The move essentially revitalized the 49ers' season after starting 3-4 by giving them a player who could do it all. With Deebo Samuel failing to come close to this 2021 form, McCaffrey gave them that similar impact.
Teaming him up in a backfield that already has a pretty sweet running back in Elijah Mitchell, and even Jordan Mason, gives the 49ers a stacked position. It can only get better as they all go through an offseason together. Teams would be lucky to have one adequate running back, but the 49ers have three with one of them being All Pro caliber. So, do the 49ers have the best running back room in the NFL?
Pro Football Focus sure thinks so and it's impossible to disagree with them. Here is their explanation.
"Christian McCaffrey was everything the 49ers could have hoped for, averaging 4.9 yards per carry and forcing 30 missed tackles on 199 rushing attempts in the regular season and playoffs after his midseason trade from the Carolina Panthers. His 91.9 PFF receiving grade in that span was the best in the entire NFL, too. Then you have Elijah Mitchell as depth, who has produced 75.0-plus PFF rushing grades in each of the past two seasons when healthy."
A solid explanation for why the best running back room in the league resides with the 49ers. It really doesn't need to be detailed about the impact McCaffrey has. That much is well known, and even Mitchell is identifiable as a solid running back who could start for practically any team in the league. These two players alone give the 49ers a significantly stacked edge over the majority of teams.
What fails to get mentioned is Mason. The guy is vastly underrated and underutilized, yet in his small sample size he demonstrated he can be a fierce running back. He has vision, shiftiness, aggression, and most importantly he takes care of the football. It's no wonder he fits so well in the 49ers offense. His skill set gets perfectly optimized there. Should McCaffrey and/or Mitchell be sidelined with an injury for a while, the 49ers will be more than okay with Mason holding it down.
In fact, I think you could argue Mason should see more carries than Mitchell. That would allow Mason to continue to grow and gain momentum. Mitchell on the other hand is a heavy risk at sustaining an injury. Even with limited snaps, he still finds a way to get nicked up. Rolling with Mason would be the better play here because he hasn't shown any durability issues. Again, a small sample size, but it is worth the try. Besides, Mitchell gets hurt in small sample sizes anyways when he took a backseat to McCaffrey.
Either way, the 49ers are loaded at running back and have no excuses for why they cannot dominate on the ground.