49ers: 3 rookies who could be Pro Bowlers by 2021
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: 49ers Running Back Salvon Ahmed
San Francisco’s running back room is crowded heading into 2020. Tevin Coleman, Jerick McKinnon, Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson, JaMycal Hasty and Salvon Ahmed are all runners vying for a spot on the depth chart this season, and not all will make the 53-man roster.
But Coleman is a pending free agent in 2021, while McKinnon hits an option year in 2021 and could also see this upcoming season as his last donning red and gold.
It’s likely head coach Kyle Shanahan is stashing a player like Ahmed to take over duties from either player in 2021, particularly if the former Husky can bank on the dual-threat capabilities he displayed during his collegiate career.
Ahmed has similar traits to a former 49ers running back, Matt Breida, who rose from the UDFA ranks to become the team’s leading rusher in 2018. And while Breida didn’t earn a Pro Bowl nod that season, it’s not far-fetched to think a run-first Niners offense could put a player like Ahmed into prime position to stack up the numbers in 2021.
A lot of this depends on which current San Francisco running backs stick around over the next two years.
But out of the young crop of developing tailbacks, combined with those UDFAs with the most opportunity, Ahmed would be the one with the most Pro Bowl potential.