49ers Raheem Mostert needs to back up last season’s efforts
By Peter Panacy
Why Raheem Mostert regresses with 49ers in 2020
At 28 years old, it’s not as if Raheem Mostert is hitting the “ascent” portion of his career. And the lack of production earlier in other systems is a knock against his recent performances, perhaps suggesting he could be in line for the “one-year wonder” moniker.
Yet there’s far more to a would-be regression for Mostert this upcoming season than his late surge from a year ago.
True, the Niners parted ways with running back Matt Breida during the offseason. But veteran running back Jerick McKinnon is poised to return from a two-year injury absence, and he figures to take snaps away from Mostert and fellow tailback Tevin Coleman. McKinnon, like Mostert, is also a threat in the receiving game and provides a serviceable pass-catching option on third downs, potentially cutting into the number of overall touches Mostert could otherwise get.
On top of that, Kyle Shanahan has never shied away from using a running back by committee, frequently going with the hot hand, particularly late in games when those chunk-yardage situations are much more common.
Likewise, San Francisco potentially being without second-year wide receiver Deebo Samuel (foot) for the first quarter of the regular season could easily translate into opponents’ defenses focusing more attention on the 49ers ground game.
Mostert may not find the going quite as easy as he did a year ago.