49ers training camp: Biggest winners, losers after first week

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Jerick McKinnon #28 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

49ers Winner: Jerick McKinnon

If the highlights running back Jerick McKinnon is producing in camp is to be expected in the regular season, we may finally be seeing what the fuss is all about after two years on the sidelines.

McKinnon hasn’t had a perfect training camp, but it was important for him to work his way into the 49ers running back committee as the player who has the most to offer from a receiving standpoint.

McKinnon still has to build on consistency given the Niners need a true weapon out of the backfield, but he’s shown enough to show that even with two years on the sideline that he still hasn’t lost any of his burst and athleticism.

There was always a concern that the injuries might have sapped him of the weapons that made him so attractive to Kyle Shanahan when he was recruited via free agency.

With these concerns allayed, the goal for McKinnon is to develop into a consistent weapon for the passing offense as well as a cog in the running back rotation.

If he gets back up to his full potential, the 49ers will have a new dimension to its offense in 2020.