San Francisco 49ers: Early look at 2019 position battles
By Peter Panacy
No. 4: Running Back
This might not be as competitive a position battle as the rest, but seeing how the running back position pans out in 2019 is going to be nonetheless interesting.
Primary duties will be, of course, between Jerick McKinnon and Matt Breida. McKinnon, like Jimmy Garoppolo, suffered a season-ending ACL injury earlier this year — one, in the tailback’s case, occurred before Week 1. So we have yet to see what kind of impact the former Minnesota Viking will have in Kyle Shanahan’s offense.
Meanwhile, Breida has emerged as a major force on the ground. The 2017 undrafted free agent is averaging an impressive 5.8 yards per carry and is on pace to rush for 1,073 yards this season.
But if you follow the money, there’s no way McKinnon’s role winds up being reduced significantly because of Breida. The 49ers aggressively pursued McKinnon last offseason to the tune of four years, $30 million. It’s a significantly front-loaded deal, but that factor doesn’t exactly weigh in until 2020.
It’s possible, however, Shanahan winds up utilizing this tandem to great effect in 2019. McKinnon emerging as the pass-catching option out of the backfield, while Breida winds up being more of the traditional runner.
The fact both can double as each other’s counterpart benefits San Francisco’s future plans too.