SF 49ers: Position report-card grades halfway through 2020
By Peter Panacy
SF 49ers Running Back
. . . RUNNING BACK . C
If you want a clear-cut example just how much Kyle Shanahan’s offense has been derailed by injuries, look no further than at running back. Entering the season, the thought was Shanahan would have too many runners on his roster. Nine weeks in, there haven’t been enough.
Tailbacks Raheem Mostert, Tevin Coleman and Jeff Wilson have all been sidelined multiple weeks by injuries, leaving Jerick McKinnon and JaMycal Hasty as essentially the only two options who have been somewhat regularly available on game day.
As such, the SF 49ers currently boast the league’s 12th best rushing offense with 1,071 yards on the ground.
Last year, the Niners had the No. 2-ranked rushing offense. It’s quite the difference.
The hand-in-glove nature of football can point out some of San Francisco’s ground issues and blame them on the offensive line, which has seen a downturn in run-blocking abilities. The lack of health among key players like Mostert and Coleman has been a major factor, too, as well as Shanahan calling a notably higher percentage of pass plays this season — 54 percent, up from 47.2 last season.
Still, with the ground attack being one of Shanahan’s offensive staples, the lack of consistency, total rush yardage and the so-so 4.4 yards per carry means this group is right in the middle of the pack, receiving a middle-of-the-pack kind of grade.