49ers 2018 camp battle: Running back depth heats up post Matt Breida injury

The San Francisco 49ers lost running back Matt Breida to a shoulder injury during the team’s exhibition opener for an unforeseen amount of time, meaning his competition — Joe Williams and Raheem Mostert — will get more looks this preseason.

On the negative side of things, the San Francisco 49ers suffered a slew of injuries during their 24-21 preseason debut victory against the Dallas Cowboys last Thursday.

Two of the bigger injuries of note were to tight end George Kittle and backup running back Matt Breida — both of whom suffered shoulder injuries early in the contest and had to be removed from the game.

Fortunately, the Niners dodged major bullets with regards to both injuries’ levels of severity. Kittle’s injury isn’t expected to be serious. And according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, neither is Breida’s:

There isn’t much of a competition at tight end this training camp and preseason. But that’s not the case at running back, where San Francisco has a number of other contributors vying for depth spots behind its No. 1 tailback, Jerick McKinnon.

Breida is still a favorite to earn the No. 2 spot, particularly after ranking third among 49ers offensive players with 645 all-purpose yards last season.

With his injury, though — one which will likely keep him out until early September — the Niners are going to be forced to take harder looks at depth runners Joe Williams, Raheem Mostert and, to a point, Jeremy McNichols.

Mostert ended up being the most effective ball carrier for San Francisco Thursday night, seeing eight carries for 57 yards and averaging 7.1 yards per attempt in the process. He did fumble in the red zone, however, which won’t help his roster chances. But the Niners may be eyeing him for more red-zone duties this season anyway — an area in which he excelled a year ago.

Meanwhile, Williams saw the majority of carries — a total of 11 but for just 2.5 yards per attempt. While he did score the 49ers’ first touchdown of the game, Williams largely wasn’t able to exploit the frequently few open lanes his run blockers created for him.

McNichols also had a nice 9-yard carry — his best of three attempts on the night.

Williams is under the most pressure to deliver out of this crop, however. Taken in Round 4 of the 2017 NFL Draft, the Utah product struggled with ball security and a sense of urgency his first season at the pro level, eventually being redshirted his rookie campaign with an ankle injury.

And thanks to Breida’s ascension last year, Williams’ spot on the 2018 roster was by no means guaranteed.

Ideally, San Francisco would prefer to have Breida in the mix over its remaining three preseason bouts. But with injury comes opportunity for someone else, and now Williams, Mostert and McNichols should be expected to see a few more chances thrown their way.