SF 49ers: 5 players who should be on Santa’s naughty list
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: SF 49ers Running Back Jerick McKinnon
Early on this season, it looked as if running back Jerick McKinnon was going to be a vital part of the SF 49ers offense. He was, after all, seemingly scoring a touchdown every game despite the bulk of actual carries going to other tailbacks on the roster.
That streak came to an end in Week 5, however, and then McKinnon gradually saw himself worked back to the tail end of the Niners running back depth chart. Despite an uptick in use in Weeks 9 and 10 when fellow runners Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. were out with injuries, McKinnon subsequently found himself third or even fourth in the pecking order.
In Weeks 13 and 14, McKinnon saw a combined two offensive snaps and never touched the ball.
One can only wonder what the veteran running back, who was coming back from a 2018 ACL tear, ever did to deserve that?
Of course, relatively low levels of production warranted the bumping up of Mostert and Wilson atop the depth chart.
At least in Santa’s view, however, there must be something St. Nick knows about McKinnon and why he’s been so little a factor leading up to the holidays.