49ers 2017 Season: San Francisco’s new running game
By Jonah Burros
Fullbacks and tight ends
When Kyle Shanahan started the 2017 offseason, he inherited a large group of unproven tight ends that are not known for their blocking acumen and not a single fullback on the roster.
Shanahan’s outside-zone run scheme purposely lends itself to a bevy of play-action-style passes to underneath personnel. This, in turn, causes quite the conundrum for linebackers and safeties attempting to ascertain whether the halfback is speeding around the outside or any combination of HB, FB or TE that could be peeling off of a block to receive the ball from a quarterback on the move.
All things considered, this means the team’s TEs and FBs need to be on point and mobile with their blocks and receiving chops.
One of the first and most high profile signings the 49ers made in the beginning weeks of free agency was to bring in FB Kyle Juszczyk, also known as “Juice.”
Kyle Juszczyk
He is widely considered the best receiving FB in the NFL, which you can see for yourself here:
That aside, he is also a fierce blocker as well, lending his body with authority to both the run and the pass.
Highly athletic and fast for his position, Juszczyk compliments a quick backfield better than any FB in the league and can even play the TE position if need be. Drafted out of Harvard, Juice is the offensive weapon that nobody sees coming. He can run and block like a beast and demands attention away from the HB. He wreaked havoc in the Ivy Leagues and did not miss a beat at the pro level.
After Juice, the FB position is wide open and could be potentially addressed by a versatile TE if he were to go down.
Logan Paulsen and George Kittle
When it comes to the TE position, the predominate placeholders already on the roster are Vance McDonald and Brent Celek. Both were signed to new contracts by the previous regime last year, but neither seems to fit the mold in the new running game.
More from SF 49ers News
- DraftKings NFL Draft Promo – Win $150 Guaranteed on Any $5 Bet
- Updated 49ers salary cap space ahead of 2023 NFL Draft
- Deebo Samuel fully admits his hatred of LA Rams
- Brock Purdy jokingly says he’s learning to throw left-handed
- 49ers news: Trey Lance is in the dark regarding trade talk
The 49ers were proactive in addressing this with the preseason acquisitions of TE Logan Paulsen in free agency and taking Iowa TE George Kittle in Round 5 of the draft.
Paulsen, at 6-foot-5 and 268 pounds, is the purest blocking TE on the roster. He is an all-around blocker with the ability to move larger defenders and still peel to catch if need be. He had his best years with the Redskins under Shanahan and is familiar with the system.
Kittle, on the other hand, is the crescent wrench in the TE toolbox. At 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, he is a little smaller than most teams would like, but do not let this fool you.
He ran a 4.52 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine and is the best blocking TE in the class. He blocks way above his weight and came out of a pro-style offense that showcased his next level technique.
When watching his highlights, you see him consistently making the key blocks on larger players while still effectively peeling and running routes as an offensive weapon:
Going into the 2016 season, some analysts had him as the No.1 TE in the nation due to his all-around game, as profiled here in an article by Josh Liskiewitz of Pro Football Focus in 2015.
Given his overall versatility and blocking acumen, you could even pencil Kittle in as a potential FB backup, should the need arise.
With the direction of the backfield and the TEs taking shape, the pieces that they surround at the offensive line and quarterback become paramount to the full running game picture.