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Kyle Shanahan Gushes About 49ers RB Jordan Mason

The MVP of the preseason for the 49ers this year was running back Jordan Mason.

Grant Cohn

Aug 23, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason (24) celebrates with team mates after scoring a touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders during the first quarter at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 23, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason (24) celebrates with team mates after scoring a touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders during the first quarter at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
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The MVP of the preseason for the 49ers this year was running back Jordan Mason.

He averaged a whopping 5.4 yards per carry on 14 attempts and scored two rushing touchdowns. To be fair, he didn't play against the Saints starting defense -- he missed that game with a sore hip. Mason's carries came against the Titans backups and the Raiders backups. Still, he clearly outclassed the competition and earned the job as Christian McCaffrey's primary backup. In past years, Elijah Mitchell was the backup and Mason was third string. Not anymore.

Here's what Kyle Shanahan said about Mason after the 49ers' preseason finale in Las Vegas.

Q: Where do you think Jordan has improved the most?

SHANAHAN: "He's been such a good runner since he's gotten here. I think his stamina has gotten better. I think his all-around play, especially on special teams, too, has gotten a lot better, especially from the first year. He started playing at a high level on special teams last year, though. He carried it to this year. He's been running the ball well for a while. He's solid in the pass game as well."

Q: What is your trust level?

SHANAHAN: "A ton of trust. We got a bunch of playing time, get him out healthy. That really was the goal for everyone today. Not really a fun thing going into these games when you want guys to play because I truly believe it helps them, but you want to make sure they stay healthy, too."

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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