The San Francisco 49ers lost backup running back Brian Robinson Jr. in free agency. While they may be content with Jordan James to serve as the primary backup to Christian McCaffrey, recent rumors suggest the Niners may be interested in adding to the running back depth chart in the NFL Draft later this month.
Matt Barrows of The Athletic recently linked San Francisco to Arkansas running back Mike Washington, saying, “I heard that [the 49ers are] doing a lot of work on Mike Washington, who might be the third best running back in the draft."
Washington put up some solid numbers in college. In 2025, he had 1,070 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. He also had 226 receiving yards on the season. He is seen as a work-horse back who also has a ton of speed, so he sort of brings the best of both worlds to the table.
The one big red flag is ball security, which is something head coach Kyle Shanahan harps on. We saw Isaac Guerendo get iced out of the run game all of last season after he had some fumble troubles in his rookie campaign, so that may be something that scares the Niners away.
It’s been noted the 49ers haven't exactly had the best luck drafting running backs under Shanahan and general manager John Lynch. One readily thinks about busts like Trey Sermon or guys who flamed out like Elijah Mitchell. They’ve ironically had more success with undrafted guys like Jeff Wilson Jr. and Matt Breida.
That doesn’t necessarily mean they'll whiff again, but they should probably think about adding another running back through the draft or in free agency.
San Francisco’s depth chart looks something like this right now:
1. Christian McCaffrey
2. Jordan James
3. Isaac Guerendo
4. Patrick Taylor Jr.
That's not exactly a comforting group behind McCaffrey when one considers the fact he's about to turn age 30 and has a pretty lengthy injury history in his career. The Niners got lucky with McCaffrey's health in 2025 after he only played in four games the previous season, so next season, they may not be as lucky.
There are some ideal targets the 49ers could go after in free agency, but if they do not want to spend on a backup, then maybe they will choose to draft Washington or some other running back and go for a quantity-over-quality approach.
Washington is projected to go late in the second round, so if he is still there when San Francisco picks with the No. 58 overall selection, then maybe it'll roll the dice on another running back.