Why 49ers Matt Breida is headed for a true breakout season in 2019

After a productive and healthy preseason, San Francisco 49ers running back Matt Breida is a legitimate breakout candidate heading into 2019. The former undrafted back has an incredible opportunity to produce this year.

San Francisco 49ers running back Jerick McKinnon has been placed on injured reserve for the second year in a row, ending his season. McKinnon has unfortunately never been able to fully recover from the torn ACL he suffered in the Niners 2018 training camp. He is expected to undergo another knee procedure.

Matt Breida was going to have a significant role in the 49ers running back committee before the news McKinnon would be unavailable. Now it seems he will only really have to share snaps with 2019 free-agent acquisition, Tevin Coleman.

Breida was a diamond in the rough under head coach Kyle Shanahan’s running back committee last season. He ended the year with 814 yards on the ground, averaging 5.3 yards per attempt. He was only able to play in 14 games due to a nagging ankle injury.

If Breida is able to stay healthy for the entire season, there is no reason he shouldn’t be able to eclipse the 1,000-yard rushing mark. He only ran the ball a total of 153 times last year.

A total that seems more and more likely will be increased in 2019.

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The last time Shanahan had a true one-two punch at running back was in 2016, when he was an offensive coordinator with the Atlanta Falcons. He had veteran Devonta Freeman and Coleman as his running back tandem that season. Freeman had 1,079 yards on the ground on 227 carries. He also ran for an impressive 11 touchdowns. Coleman totaled 520 yards on 118 carries with eight touchdowns (he only played in 13 games).

If Breida is able to take over the Freeman-type role in Shanahan’s offense and receives 227 rushing attempts, he would be in line for 1,203 yards based on his averages last season. Shanahan has not yet had a 1,000-yard rusher since he took over the head coaching job in San Francisco.

2019 seems to be the year that the Niners are able to produce a runner who can break this cycle.

Coleman is considered to be the No. 1 back heading into the year by many. While this could be the case, he and Breida are both going to see a significant amount of carries. Coleman is the bigger back at 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds. He should get the majority of the short-yardage and goal-line carries. The early down and pass-catching role should be dominated by Breida.

This is the role that is extremely valuable to an offense ran by Shanahan.

The addition of Coleman will be beneficial to the 49ers offense but Breida is the true breakout candidate. If there is a player on the Niners roster who will reach 1,000-yards rushing for the first time since 49ers legend Frank Gore did it in 2014, it will be Breida.