San Francisco 49ers: 5 players who’ll struggle in 2020 training camp
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: 49ers Running Back Jerick McKinnon
Similar to Trent Taylor, running back Jerick McKinnon is also looking to make a fully healthy return to San Francisco after a serious injury.
In fact, McKinnon is still anticipating his regular-season debut for the Niners after inking a free-agent deal back in 2018, then tearing his ACL just before Week 1 and staying on IR the past two seasons.
McKinnon has also been featured in more than a few offseason workout videos, which is fine. It’s good to know his lateral-cut ability appears to have returned, and one can hopefully speculate he’ll be able to return to form like the 49ers initially anticipated.
Yet there’s a lot missing from McKinnon’s two-year absence, including the necessary chemistry with his offensive line and ability to properly identify holes in the defense. These aren’t traits capable of being replicated in remote practice sessions, and one can only guess how much more it’ll take McKinnon to adjust.
Fortunately, he’s worked out in training camps before, so there’s that experience under his belt.
Combined with the full return from injury, however, McKinnon’s return might be something brought along much more slowly than originally hoped.