Projecting the 49ers offensive depth chart after 2018 NFL Draft
By Bobby Horne
Running Back
Starters: Jerick McKinnon, Matt Breida, Kyle Juszczyk (FB)
Backup: Joe Williams
Depth: Raheem Mostert, Jeremy McNichols
Back in March, the 49ers made their biggest free-agent acquisition in signing Jerick McKinnon. They sure paid him like a starting RB, signing him to a four-year, $30 million contract making him the fifth-highest paid player at the position.
San Francisco 49ers
It’s what head coach Kyle Shanahan can do with him that makes him worth the contract. When asked how he felt about Mckinnon’s abilities, he responded with:
"There’s so many things I liked about him, just visualizing how I would use him and the stuff that we would do,even though there wasn’t a ton of it, you’ve still got to see him do some stuff that we do a lot. And whenever he did, he excelled a ton and looked very good at it."
Matt Breida, on the other hand, will serve more as “starter No. 2” in this offense as him and McKinnon will likely split snaps all season long providing one of the league’s fastest backfields.
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk will continue his starting role as fullback and coach Shanahan’s secret weapon, who will be utilized more in the passing game.
The wild card here will be Joe Williams, who had shown tremendous talent coming out of Utah but had his rookie season halted by an ankle injury. The 49ers placed him on injured reserve, ending his season.
Raheem Mostert will be a special teams ace, and Jeremy McNichols will provide backup.