49ers roster: 4 low-profile, still-important training camp battles to watch

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San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Under-the-radar 49ers training camp battle No. 2: Third-down running back

Players in the mix: Jeff Wilson Jr., Trey Sermon, JaMycal Hasty, Tyrion Davis-Price, Jordan Mason

Aside from second-year running back Elijah Mitchell, who recorded 963 rush yards in 11 games his rookie season, the 49ers’ situation in a crowded running back room is awfully fluid.

Adding two rookies to the mix during the offseason, Tyrion Davis-Price in Round 3 and Jordan Mason as an undrafted free agent, spices up the competition a lot here, but the key value will likely be felt by whoever winds up being a third-down specialist, especially on short-yardage situations.

It’s a complex scenario to break down.

Wilson, whose pass-catching skills are underrated, has typically been the Niners’ power back in previous years, yet Davis-Price throws in a proverbial “monkey wrench” into Wilson’s prospects for reclaiming this role in 2022, as ESPN’s Nick Wagoner pointed out:

"To wit: The 49ers ranked 29th in the league in third-down run conversion percentage, gaining a first down on just 42.4% of their rushing attempts on third down. On handoffs to running backs, their conversion rate of 42.1% was last in the NFL on fourth or third-and-3 or fewer. They averaged 2.3 yards per carry on third-and-2 or fewer yards, which ranked 26th in the NFL. In 2021, Davis-Price had 36 carries for 153 yards and two touchdowns on third or fourth down. From that, he went for 111 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries when the Tigers faced third or fourth down with 3 or fewer yards to go."

Davis-Price had only 28 catches for 165 yards over his three-year collegiate tenure at LSU, though, so serving as a pass-catcher out of the backfield isn’t exactly his thing, perhaps negating his third-down value.

That said, he might be the best option for short-yardage runs on third downs with less than 3 yards to go, an area in which San Francisco struggled.

The team won’t want to struggle here again, making this an important duty to monitor.