SF 49ers: Power ranking each position after offseason roster cuts

No. 2: SF 49ers Running Back

Tevin Coleman, Raheem Mostert, Jerick McKinnon, Jeff Wilson Jr. and Kyle Juszczyk

Despite the offseason additions at wide receiver and the hopeful maturation from Jimmy Garoppolo, the fact is Kyle Shanahan’s offense is built around the run.

Remember, the Niners boasted the league’s No. 2 overall rushing offense in 2019, and that shouldn’t change much heading into 2020.

But what puts San Francisco’s running backs into the No. 2 spot on this power rankings list, and being slated as the top offensive unit, is the fact all three of the top four runners could start for most teams. Tevin Coleman was a starter in Atlanta for the Falcons before joining the Niners in 2019. Jerick McKinnon was pegged as a starter for the 49ers when he was signed in 2018 but before going down with an ACL tear just before the regular season.

And Raheem Mostert, who led the Niners with 772 rush yards and 10 all-purpose touchdowns last season, is a prime commodity, too.

Kyle Juszczyk, meanwhile, is the best fullback in the game and is proverbially “spitting in the face” of the notion his position is a dying breed.

It’s likely Shanahan deploys Coleman early in games to determine defensive weaknesses, then lets Mostert pick up the chunk yards while allowing McKinnon to serve as a third-down pass-catching back.

Look for that approach to be a key element in San Francisco’s offensive game plan this year.