San Francisco seems to have the most convoluted running back situation in the league. They drafted a pair of guys who have some potential to start, but they’ve also got some capable veterans.
They traded up in the third round to select Trey Sermon. I would think some will believe he’ll be their best running back. He ran for 331 yards in the Big Ten championship game, and he ran for 193 against Clemson. He looked good on those nights, though he didn’t actually run for 1,000 yards in any of his college seasons at Oklahoma and Ohio State.
They drafted Elijah Mitchell in the sixth round. I can’t guarantee he’ll even make the 53-man roster, but with him being a sixth-round pick selected by a team coached by a Shanahan, he at least merits a look in August. Terrell Davis, Mike Anderson and Alfred Morris were all sixth-round picks.
And they’ve got some good guys coming back.
There were 47 running backs last year who carried the ball at least 100 times. Only 18 of those backs averaged over 4.6 yards per carry. The 49ers are the only team that now has three of those backs – Raheem Moster, Jeff Wilson and former Giant Wayne Gallman.
| RUNNING BACKS: YARDS PER CARRY | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | Yards | Avg | TD |
| J.K. Dobbins, Balt. | 134 | 805 | 6.01 | 9 |
| Nick Chubb, Cle. | 190 | 1,067 | 5.62 | 12 |
| Aaron Jones, G.B. | 201 | 1,104 | 5.49 | 9 |
| Derrick Henry , Ten. | 378 | 2,027 | 5.36 | 17 |
| Miles Sanders, Phil. | 164 | 867 | 5.29 | 6 |
| Ronald Jones, T.B. | 192 | 978 | 5.09 | 7 |
| Damien Harris, N.E. | 137 | 691 | 5.04 | 2 |
| Jonathan Taylor, Ind. | 232 | 1,169 | 5.04 | 11 |
| Gus Edwards, Balt. | 144 | 723 | 5.02 | 6 |
| Raheem Mostert, S.F. | 104 | 521 | 5.01 | 2 |
| Dalvin Cook, Min. | 312 | 1,557 | 4.99 | 16 |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 187 | 932 | 4.98 | 16 |
| Chris Carson, Sea. | 141 | 681 | 4.83 | 5 |
| Jeff Wilson, S.F. | 126 | 600 | 4.76 | 7 |
| David Johnson, Hou. | 147 | 691 | 4.70 | 6 |
| Antonio Gibson, Was. | 170 | 795 | 4.68 | 11 |
| Brian Hill, Atl. | 100 | 465 | 4.65 | 1 |
| Wayne Gallman, NYG | 147 | 682 | 4.64 | 6 |
| Melvin Gordon, Den. | 215 | 986 | 4.59 | 9 |
| D'Andre Swift, Det. | 114 | 521 | 4.57 | 8 |
| Austin Ekeler, LAC | 116 | 530 | 4.57 | 1 |
| Darrell Henderson, LAR | 138 | 624 | 4.52 | 5 |
| Latavius Murray, N.O. | 146 | 656 | 4.49 | 4 |
| James Robinson, Jac. | 240 | 1,070 | 4.46 | 7 |
| Clyde Edwards-Helaire, K.C. | 181 | 803 | 4.44 | 4 |
| Devin Singletary, Buff. | 156 | 687 | 4.40 | 2 |
| David Montgomery, Chi. | 247 | 1,070 | 4.33 | 8 |
| Cam Akers, LAR | 145 | 625 | 4.31 | 2 |
| Tony Pollard, Dall. | 101 | 435 | 4.31 | 4 |
| Zack Moss, Buff. | 112 | 481 | 4.29 | 4 |
| James Conner, Pitt. | 169 | 721 | 4.27 | 6 |
| Phillip Lindsay, Den. | 118 | 502 | 4.25 | 1 |
| Kareem Hunt, Cle. | 198 | 841 | 4.25 | 6 |
| Jamaal Williams, G.B. | 119 | 505 | 4.24 | 2 |
| Malcolm Brown, LAR | 101 | 419 | 4.15 | 5 |
| Myles Gaskin, Mia. | 142 | 584 | 4.11 | 3 |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 244 | 979 | 4.01 | 6 |
| Kenyan Drake, Ariz. | 239 | 955 | 4.00 | 10 |
| Josh Jacobs, L.V. | 273 | 1,065 | 3.90 | 12 |
| Mike Davis, Car. | 165 | 642 | 3.89 | 6 |
| Adrian Peterson, Det. | 156 | 604 | 3.87 | 7 |
| Joe Mixon, Cin. | 119 | 428 | 3.60 | 3 |
| Frank Gore, NYJ | 187 | 653 | 3.49 | 2 |
| Todd Gurley, Atl. | 195 | 678 | 3.48 | 9 |
| Giovani Bernard, Cin. | 124 | 416 | 3.35 | 3 |
| Benny Snell, Pitt. | 111 | 368 | 3.32 | 4 |
| Joshua Kelley, LAC | 111 | 354 | 3.19 | 2 |
—Ian Allan