49ers roster: 5 most important offensive players entering 2021
By Peter Panacy
No. 3 Most Important Offensive Player for 49ers: RB Raheem Mostert
Plenty of eyes are going to be on the 49ers’ third-round rookie running back, Trey Sermon, this season. It wouldn’t be shocking at all to see him eventually assume the starter’s role, potentially as early as 2021.
But Kyle Shanahan hasn’t traditionally fielded an RB1 in that kind of bell-cow format, rather using a rotation that’ll often feature one runner seeing the field early with another coming in during the second half.
For much of 2019 and 2020, the latter-half runner was Raheem Mostert, who used his exceptional speed to get beyond worn-out defenses after halftime. Not only was Mostert recorded as the fastest ball carrier last season by Next Gen Stats, he just so happened to hold the top two spots.
Injuries have played a role, though, and Mostert having missed eight games last year is a cause for some concern.
That said, not even Sermon commands the same name recognition around league circles just yet, while Mostert’s exceptional performance against the Green Bay Packers in the 2020 NFC Championship game still gets touted.
As far as home-run threats go, Mostert remains atop the Niners’ rankings list.