The season is days away. Most of us have drafted our teams. But it always makes some sense to keep one eye on the bottom of your roster, gauging whether there are some unattached players out there around the league with a better chance of eventually developing into something.
That’s fantasy football. It’s why we love the game. And in the spirit of overmanaging our teams, here are a few guys I’ve been watching.
Kaelon Black, 49ers. I saw him carry the ball a few times in the preseason and thought he looked fine. The 49ers are listing him as their backup running back, ahead of Jordan James. With Christian McCaffrey being an older, overworked back with a history of injuries, I don’t think there’s any chance of him starting all 17 games. So if Black made it through your draft unselected, he should be added.
Kyle Shanahan, of course, among the best at scheming up a running game. In his nine years with San Francisco, six different rookie running backs have had games with at least 60 rushing yards. Particularly for those with McCaffrey, best to add Black now, before it likely becomes very clear on Thursday night that he’s the team’s backup.
| ROOKIE RUNNERS WITH KYLE SHANAHAN | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Opp | Result | Att | Yards | Avg | TD |
| 2021 | Elijah Mitchell | at Chi. | W, 33-22 | 18 | 137 | 7.6 | 1 |
| 2021 | Elijah Mitchell | Min. | W, 34-26 | 27 | 133 | 4.9 | 1 |
| 2021 | Elijah Mitchell | Hou. | W, 23-7 | 21 | 119 | 5.7 | 0 |
| 2021 | Elijah Mitchell | Ind. | L, 18-30 | 18 | 107 | 5.9 | 1 |
| 2021 | Elijah Mitchell | at Det. | W, 41-33 | 19 | 104 | 5.5 | 1 |
| 2024 | Isaac Guerendo | at Sea. | W, 36-24 | 10 | 99 | 9.9 | 0 |
| 2021 | Elijah Mitchell | LAR | W, 31-10 | 27 | 91 | 3.4 | 0 |
| 2018 | Jeff Wilson | Den. | W, 20-14 | 23 | 90 | 3.9 | 0 |
| 2021 | Trey Sermon | Sea. | L, 21-28 | 19 | 89 | 4.7 | 0 |
| 2024 | Isaac Guerendo | Dall. | W, 30-24 | 14 | 85 | 6.1 | 1 |
| 2021 | Elijah Mitchell | at LAR | W, 27-24 | 21 | 85 | 4.0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Isaac Guerendo | Chi. | W, 38-13 | 15 | 78 | 5.2 | 2 |
| 2017 | Matt Breida | Jac. | W, 44-33 | 11 | 74 | 6.7 | 1 |
| 2017 | Matt Breida | at LAR | W, 34-13 | 12 | 72 | 6.0 | 0 |
| 2021 | Elijah Mitchell | at Sea. | L, 23-30 | 22 | 66 | 3.0 | 1 |
| 2022 | Jordan Mason | at Sea. | W, 21-13 | 4 | 64 | 16.0 | 0 |
| 2018 | Jeff Wilson | at Sea. | L, 16-43 | 15 | 61 | 4.1 | 0 |
Jaylen Wright, Dolphins. I don’t think De’Von Achane can last 17 games. Really, it’s hard for any running back to handle that kind of punishment week in and week out, and Achane is tiny. So Dolphins should be dipping into the bullpen at some point, and said back could be better you most are expecting. That’s a lesser, lousy team, but with a credible offensive line. I liked the look of the first-unit offense in the preseason – it surprised me.
Miami also has Ollie Gordon, but Wright is listed higher than Gordon on the team’s depth chart and played before him in the preseason.
Jacob Saylors, Lions. Isiah Pacheco is on IR, so I think Saylors is the No. 2 back in Detroit for now. It’s either him or Sione Vaki, a converted defensive back who’s carried the ball 7 times for 18 yards in his first two seasons. Should Jahmyr Gibbs miss any time, I’m interested in whichever back they plug in. I think Saylors.
DJ Giddens, Colts. The team’s depth chart indicate Giddens is the backup tailback behind Jonathan Taylor in Indianapolis. As is the case with Gibbs, the league gets a whole lot less interesting if Taylor needs to spend some time on IR. But if it plays out that way, Giddens would get his shot.
Devaughn Vele, Saints. The other four guys are all backup tailbacks, but let me toss in a wide receiver. I have interest in a passing game that’s constructed by Kellen Moore; I think they’ll be hucking it around, with the ball landing in the hands of the wide receivers. Rashid Shaheed (who’s not a volume catcher) averaged 5 catches in his nine starts in this offense last year. And Vele caught 19 passes and a touchdown in his final four games after they tossed him in.
The talented first-rounder, Jordyn Tyson, should miss the first half of the season. And their go-to guy, Chris Olave, has a lengthy history of concussions (the extension he signed in the offseason contains a waiver, allowing the team to get off the hook financially should he suffer a career-ending injury). I expect Vele will be playing plenty, providing warm-body numbers, considering the structure of the offense. On the team’s latest unofficial depth chart, Olave, Vele and rookie Barion Brown (another I suppose we should watch in some degree) are listed as first-team receivers.
—Ian Allan
