Power ranking the 49ers’ running backs in 2019 before training camp

With San Francisco 49ers training camp less than a month away, Niner Noise takes a look at a deep crop of running backs and power ranks them ahead of the 2019 season.

The San Francisco 49ers certainly aren’t short on running backs heading into 2019. But as last year revealed, this particular position can suffer a pretty decent amount of attrition if injuries wind up becoming a factor.

Last year, they certainly did.

The Niners lost Jerick McKinnon to a season-ending ACL tear before the regular season even began. While that was a major drawback, it at least opened up the door for fellow tailback Matt Breida to assume a larger role, impressing during the process.

Both Breida and McKinnon are expected back for 2019, and that would have been fine as a one-two combo for head coach Kyle Shanahan.

To make things interesting, though, San Francisco also grabbed former Atlanta Falcons running back Tevin Coleman in free agency, who thrived under Shanahan when he was the offensive coordinator there in 2015 and 2016. The reunion only serves to make the 49ers backfield all the more potent this season.

Shanahan told reporters earlier this offseason his running backs would essentially determine their own roles in 2019.

So, as a camp preview, Niner Noise takes a look at the entire stockpile of running backs on the team’s 90-man offseason roster and lists them out power rankings style in advance of training camp, which kicks off on July 26.

Training camp and the preseason can provide excellent chances for depth running backs to assert themselves. This was Breida’s role during his rookie 2017 season, which propelled him into a starting job only a year later.

Another undrafted free agent from 2019, Rice’s Austin Walter, will look to make a similar case for himself between now and Week 1.

Walter, who rushed for an average of 5.1 yards per carry over his four collegiate years, served as a versatile pass-catching tailback his senior season, recording 44 grabs for 525 yards and two touchdowns. That kind of versatility should bode well in Shanahan’s offense, even though Walter is looking at very long odds to latch onto the regular-season roster.

Prediction for 2019

Despite being the last-ranked runner on this power rankings list, Walter has a lot to prove in his first year at the pro level.

Barring injuries ahead of him, his best chance to stick with the 49ers will be on the practice squad. But as the year draws on, Walter could find himself a late-season call-up, especially if the injury bug strikes this position hard once again.

Or, just as possibly, Walter could impress one of the other 31 teams around the league enough to make a waiver claim.