49ers roster: 5 unresolved position battles left after minicamp

49ers position battle No. 1: Running back

You might be wondering why running back is listed as the No. 1 position battle to watch after mandatory minicamp, but it has its merits.

A lot of them.

For starters, and despite Trey Lance’s ascent, Kyle Shanahan’s offense is still based on the run, yet he’s never truly had a running back established as the guy on a year-to-year carryover. That points to second-year man Elijah Mitchell not being RB1 on the depth chart, per se, and Mitchell sat out minicamp nursing a minor injury.

OK, fine, right? The 49ers have a lot of bodies to compete for roles.

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This is true, but there’s drama there as well. Partially stemming from the Niners drafting former LSU running back Tyrion Davis-Price in Round 3, other rushers like Trey Sermon, Jeff Wilson Jr., JaMycal Hasty and undrafted rookie Jordan Mason will all be vying for touches and placement on the depth-chart pecking order.

Historically, Shanahan has let his running backs determine their own roles, yet that’s resulted in players like Sermon being something of a forgotten commodity.

Sermon’s future alone will be worth monitoring alone, with him being another third-round pick, while it wouldn’t be shocking if someone like Mason surprises enough to push more than just one name down the roster and potentially off of it altogether.