An early look at 49ers’ best position battles in 2019 training camp
By Peter Panacy
Running Back
Wow, so the 49ers have four running backs capable of toting the ball on their offseason roster: Jerick McKinnon, Matt Breida, Raheem Mostert and the newly acquired Tevin Coleman.
There’s an argument why the Niners will keep all four on the regular-season roster, and each player has an argument for being a priority player.
Mostert, who just inked a three-year extension, offers some of the best special teams abilities in the NFL. He’s safe there. McKinnon also received a hefty free-agent contract in 2018 before tearing his ACL after the preseason. Despite not playing a single down for San Francisco to date, the 49ers probably aren’t quite ready to move on from him just yet.
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After averaging 5.3 yards per carry last year — fourth best in the league — Breida will remain a potent offensive weapon. And Coleman is a Kyle Shanahan favorite, particularly after the tailback thrived under the Niners head coach when both were with the Atlanta Falcons in 2015 and 2016.
Sure, there always could be some player movement. But most teams don’t keep four running backs, and doing so likely means one of the three, outside Mostert, winds up seeing a massive decrease in role this season.
Injuries play a factor, of course, and San Francisco is certainly guarding against those with these four.
Assuming all are healthy and ready to contribute, though, one can’t even come close to predicting which player winds up seeing a hit on the stat sheet.
Next. A look at 5 49ers players already on the roster bubble. dark
Unless Shanahan’s offense goes into overly creative mode, which is entirely possible.