San Francisco 49ers: Predicting 53-man roster after 2020 NFL Draft
Running Backs (5)
RB Raheem Mostert
RB Tevin Coleman
RB Jerick McKinnon
RB Jeff Wilson, Jr
FB Kyle Juszczyk
Practice Squad/Dark Horse: JaMycal Hasty*
By now, it’s widely known 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and his staff are pretty good at turning little-known running backs into stars.
Raheem Mostert‘s 220 yard and four-touchdown performance in last season’s NFC Championship game indicates while Shanahan and Co. aren’t exactly plugging in just anybody off the street, they don’t need a high draft pick to make the running game click.
With the draft-day trading away of Matt Breida to the Miami Dolphins, the 49ers’ packed running back room became a little more clear, leaving the Niners with their four key runners from last year’s playoffs: Mostert, Tevin Coleman, Jeff Wilson and fullback Kyle Juszczyk, plus a likely fourth tailback slot that is Jerick McKinnon’s to lose.
McKinnon originally signed with the 49ers back in March 2018, but after tearing his ACL just days before the start of the season, he spent all of 2018 on injured reserve and then again in 2019 after complications during his comeback attempt.
The former Minnesota Viking restructured his contract two years after his original signing, converting much of the money he was owed to signing and roster bonuses. The 49ers would still take a $2 million dead money hit if he is cut after June 1.
With all that in mind, McKinnon’s spot is the only one that is up in the air, and at the moment that would mean yet another UDFA has outperformed a veteran to make the final roster.
The name to keep in mind is JaMycal Hasty out of Baylor, who shows good speed and burst on tape, but is also a willing blocker out of the backfield and strong special teams option, which could give him a leg up if it gets close between him and somebody like Wilson.
If anything, Hasty might be a candidate for one of those final two spots, allowing him to be optioned from the practice squad as needed, especially since “always healthy” isn’t a phrase I’d use to describe this running back room.