The San Francisco 49ers have had a not-so-great reputation in recent years for drafting running backs, yet there are two recent additions who ultimately hope to buck that trend.
One of them, Kaelon Black, is the Niners' newest addition who helped generate no shortage of buzz by being a massive overreach—no fault of his own there, of course. Yet Black's addition and subsequent reaction inadvertently turned the other newish face, Jordan James, into something of a forgotten presence.
James, whom San Francisco selected in Round 5 of the 2025 NFL Draft out of Oregon, saw scant action his rookie year, thanks to injuries and the fact head coach Kyle Shanahan was reliant on the top two options on the depth chart: Christian McCaffrey and Brian Robinson Jr. James' debut in a meaningful game wasn't until garbage time of the divisional-round loss to the Seattle Seahawks in January where he had six attempts for 28 yards and one catch for 7.
Robinson is gone now, yet the 49ers effectively replaced his presence with Black, making fans wonder if James will be pushed to the periphery moving forward.
Jordan James must outperform Kaelon Black to avoid being forgotten
Isaac Guerendo, the third-year rusher who wholly fell out of prominence last year, isn't available until late in training camp because of injury, and his fate might already be determined anyway, meaning both Black and James are the primary competitors to back up CMC.
Early reviews on Black have been positive, yet the real competition won't kick off until training camp.
That said, there's a major drop in Shanahan's offense from the RB2 to RB3 roles, evidenced last year by Robinson getting 100 regular-season touches behind McCaffrey to a combined zero between Guerendo and James.
Assuming McCaffrey stays healthy, of course.
So, should James ultimately lose out to Black in camp and the preseason, he'll likely be drifting into Guerendo territory; the chances of returning to prominence would only happen if injury attrition strikes the depth chart.
If the reverse happens, and James wins out, it won't help the Niners overcome the critics who called them out for reaching on Black. But it'll ultimately vindicate the James selection from the year before.
And that should make for an enticing camp battle, one that'll have significant ramifications for James in one way or another.
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