© Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
SANTA CLARA – Few teams were hit harder by backfield injuries last season than the San Francisco 49ers. Jerick McKinnon tore his ACL the day before the season kicked off. Matt Breida was fantastic but had to play through a nagging ankle injury which limited him late in the year. Raheem Mostert suffered a brutal forearm break that knocked him out of the final six games of the season.
It required the signing of the 30-year-old Alfred Morris, who was about as good as you would expect a 30-year-old, seven-year veteran would be. He had 428 yards and 2 TDs in 12 games.
Kyle Shanahan evidently did not want to worry about the scenario of not having a starting-caliber running back, so he got a third in Tevin Coleman. Coleman, who spent four years with the Atlanta Falcons, and is coming off his first 800-yard season (a product of his first RB1 chance due to Devonta Freeman’s season-ending groin and foot injuries) projects to be the first back in the depth chart.
Matt Breida, after his first 800-plus yard season, is probably just behind Coleman, although the ordering for all of these backs will be fluid and probably dependent on who has the hot hand. McKinnon, who is coming back from an ACL tear, will probably project as the third in the pecking order from the get-go. At age 27, he’s also the oldest of the three, not that it will make much difference in terms of playing time (Coleman is 26, Breida 24).
All three are capable at catching passes out of the backfield, but whoever can demonstrate they’re most comfortable in that role will probably get the lion’s share of playing time. They’ve all proven to be capable runners, but in an offense with so many options, and Kyle Juszczyk a staple combo threat, training camp and preseason performance will matter significantly in terms of deciding playing time.
As Matt Barrows of The Athletic wrote, it’s likely Raheem Mostert, who would obviously be the fourth running back in the pecking order, gets a place on the roster for his special teams ability. He’s also not the worst option to have as a third running back if one of the top three go down.
There’s also one option that has not been widely discussed, but could add a layer of dynamism and versatility to a 49ers offense that was punchless in the red zone last year: Jalen Hurd. At this point in his career, the rookie wide out is far more familiar with a backfield role than the receiving role he mostly played in his final season at Baylor.
Hurd was fantastic as a tailback at the University of Tennessee in his first two college seasons, rushing for 899 yards and 5 touchdowns (along with 35 receptions for 221 yards and 2 TDs) in his freshman season, and rushing for 1285 yards and 12 TDs (plus 22 receptions for 190 yards and 2 TDs) in his sophomore year. His junior year saw him play in just seven games compared to the 13 in each of his first two years, and both his gross totals and averages declined (4.7 and 4.6 yards per carry in freshman and sophomore seasons, respectively, 3.7 yards per carry in junior year).
After that disappointment, Hurd transferred to Baylor, where, for the first time in his college career, he took the vast majority of his snaps at receiver. He still notched 28 carries for 208 yards and 3 TDs, but he revealed a glimpse of the potential for his 6’5″ frame, catching 69 passes for 946 yards with 4 TDs. Expecting Hurd to be an immediate, consistent threat from a traditional X, outside receiving position might be a tough ask, although having Wes Welker and Miles Austin as tutors might speed the learning process up.
Where Hurd could become immediately valuable is in the red zone. Aside from George Kittle, whose one main area for growth is the red zone, the 49ers have not had a physically large threat in the final 20.
One of Hurd’s great talents is his quickness off the line, and could provide mismatches if slotted in the increasingly popular H-back position; sort of a blend between tight end and full back, which leaves options open for sweeps and other blends of trick plays, or just a straight up pass route from an offset position. The equal threat of him carrying and catching the ball alongside the NFL’s most dynamic fullback in Kyle Juszczyk with a backfield of quick, shifty backs could create a complex red zone threat that the 49ers have so plainly lacked.
Hurd obviously won’t project to line up as a tailback often, if ever, but his familiarity in coming out of the backfield could see him slotted there more than a handful of times this year. What is clear is that there will be a massive competition for snaps in the 49ers’ backfield, and at this point in the early season, with few injuries to account for so far, that Shanahan and John Lynch would prefer to keep that triple-headed threat rather than make a trade.
The reality of that situation is that someone is likely going to draw the short straw. The question for the 49ers is, who is it?
Note: This piece is part of a countdown to training camp feature which, each day leading up to the start of training camp on July 27, will take a look at one of the 10 biggest questions the 49ers will have to answer this season. While camp officially starts on July 26, the first practice is July 27.
To read Tuesday’s piece on the potential for the 49ers’ defensive line click here.