49ers vs. Lions: 5 Niners who impressed most in Week 1 win

No. 4: 49ers Running Back Elijah Mitchell

San Francisco doesn’t benefit from missing its No. 1 running back, Raheem Mostert, who left the game early with a knee injury.

But the team does benefit from having rookie running back Elijah Mitchell in the fray.

Mitchell’s sub-4.3 40-yard time was on display throughout the game, and even Fox Sports’ Mark Sanchez pointed out how Mitchell was something of a “mini-Mostert” because of the speed factor.

That speed was on display during the rookie sixth-round draft pick’s 38-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter that helped set the tone for the 49ers offense:

In total, Mitchell’s NFL debut was quite the storybook performance, as he rushed for a whopping 104 yards on 19 carries, the touchdown and averaged 5.5 yards per attempt.

Sure, there were some moments where his reads were wrong, and there are areas where Mitchell will want to improve.

But as far as contributions from Niners depth players, it’s awfully hard to find anyone better than Mitchell from the offensive vantage point.