San Francisco 49ers: 3 players who must play bigger role in 2020
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: Running Back Raheem Mostert
Raheem Mostert’s ascent to San Francisco’s No. 1 runner late last season was hard to predict, although the signs were there.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan utilized him sparingly, yet effectively on offense in 2018 before Mostert suffered a season-ending arm injury towards the end of the year. Entering last season, one might have argued Mostert was in danger of missing out on a roster spot, particularly after the team inked veteran running back Tevin Coleman during the offseason.
But Coleman has zero in guaranteed money for 2020 on his current contract, and the cap-strapped Niners could end up making him a cap casualty. Additionally, fellow running back Matt Breida appeared to fall out of favor with Shanahan down the stretch, painting an uncertain future for the restricted free agent as well.
Shanahan has a knack for identifying and developing less-than-heralded running backs already, meaning the 49ers won’t necessarily be in doom mode if Coleman and Breida aren’t part of the team’s future any longer.
Yet this also puts Mostert, who actually finished the year as San Francisco’s leading rusher with 772 rush yards and eight touchdowns, into a position where he could hold the featured tailback role throughout the entire year.
Assuming Mostert’s 5.6 rush-yard average from 2019 holds true into 2020, that’s not a bad thing at all.