SF 49ers: 3 players who need to return after Week 11 bye

No. 1: SF 49ers RB Raheem Mostert

The most telling stat regarding the importance of running back Raheem Mostert in 2020 is this: Despite only featuring in four games this year, Mostert remains the leading rusher for the SF 49ers with 303 yards on 51 carries, good for a whopping 5.9 yards per carry.

Fellow tailback Jerick McKinnon is right behind Mostert with 294 yards, but he’s played in more than twice as many games (10) and carried the ball almost 25 percent more (77) for just 3.8 yards per carry.

The running game has fallen apart over the last three games with Mostert out, managing just 52, 55, and 49 yards on 22, 17, and 25 carries, respectively, good for just a 2.4 yards-per-carry average over those three matchups.

Not at all ideal.

To call Mostert’s healthy return important feels like an understatement, as his presence and success in the running game is paramount to the SF 49ers’ success on offense. Without him, the offense seems to sputter, keeping the team from being successful overall.

Unfortunately, with fellow back Jeff Wilson still on the IR and rookie JaMycal Hasty being added this week with a broken collarbone, the team may be depending on Mostert to immediately return to his bell-cow role, something that hopefully won’t exacerbate his previous injury.

Shanahan can still utilize McKinnon and recently elevated Austin Walter, too, but it’s pretty apparent how much better the SF 49ers’ offense is with Mostert taking the majority of the snaps.

And so the offense may go as far as their top rusher takes them this season, making his return all the more important.