49ers Raheem Mostert needs to back up last season’s efforts

Why Raheem Mostert improves with 49ers in 2020

There’s a bit of a mystery why Raheem Mostert, a former track standout at Purdue, didn’t catch on as an offensive force earlier in his career. This lends credence to the idea Kyle Shanahan’s offense has more to do with Mostert’s success than anything else, and it’s possible to see why in the video below:

So it might be safe to say Mostert wouldn’t have the kind of success he enjoyed last season in other systems. But Mostert is in Shanahan’s system now, and that could ultimately equate to a highly productive 2020 campaign.

Shanahan’s outside-zone rushing scheme appears to be a perfect fit here. Combining those elements with Mostert’s explosiveness once he gets up to speed, it’s not hard to understand why he averaged 5.6 yards per carry, which led the league among all qualifying running backs.

What makes this more astounding is Mostert actually faced eight-man fronts 32.1 percent of the time last year, per NextGen Stats, which was ninth highest among qualifiers.

The fact he was able to produce the numbers seen against these formations is telling, suggesting a full year as a featured weapon could translate into another career-best year for Mostert in 2020.