I wonder if Matt Breida will be San Francisco’s leading rusher. He was impressive with his limited opportunities last year, and I think the 49ers will need somebody who can lug the ball.
They signed Jerick McKinnon, of course, to a ridiculously large contract. But I think he’s more of a third-down back. He weighs only 205 pounds, and he was only sporadically effective as a runner in Minnesota. I think he played more as quarterback than a running back at Georgia Southern.
With the money they’re paying him, I think McKinnon will start on opening day and be given every opportunity to be their No. 1. I’m just not sure it will happen. With him, the most appealing dimension is his receiving production. He’s got good enough hands, and Kyle Shanahan likes working his backs into the passing game.
But when it comes to running the ball, I think Breida might be better than McKinnon.
Breida averaged 4.4 yards per carry last year, outperforming starter Carlos Hyde. McKinnon averaged only 3.8. After Dalvin Cook got hurt, McKinnon and Latavius Murray initially were sharing time, but then McKinnon declined back into more of a third-down role. In the second half of the season, Breida (as a change of pace behind Hyde) ran for more yards than McKinnon.
| RUNNING BACKS YARDS PER CARRY (100 att) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 120 | 728 | 6.07 | 8 |
| Dion Lewis, N.E. | 180 | 896 | 4.98 | 6 |
| Mark Ingram, N.O. | 230 | 1124 | 4.89 | 12 |
| Kareem Hunt, K.C. | 272 | 1327 | 4.88 | 8 |
| Kenyan Drake, Mia. | 133 | 644 | 4.84 | 3 |
| Alfred Morris, Dall. | 115 | 547 | 4.76 | 1 |
| Todd Gurley, LAR | 279 | 1305 | 4.68 | 13 |
| Alex Collins, Balt. | 212 | 973 | 4.59 | 6 |
| Matt Breida, S.F. | 105 | 465 | 4.43 | 2 |
| LeGarrette Blount, Phil. | 173 | 766 | 4.43 | 2 |
| Devonta Freeman, Atl. | 196 | 865 | 4.41 | 7 |
| Orleans Darkwa, NYG | 171 | 751 | 4.39 | 5 |
| Giovani Bernard, Cin. | 105 | 458 | 4.36 | 2 |
| Bilal Powell, NYJ | 178 | 772 | 4.34 | 5 |
| Marshawn Lynch, Oak. | 207 | 891 | 4.30 | 7 |
| Wayne Gallman, NYG | 111 | 476 | 4.29 | 0 |
| Derrick Henry, Tenn. | 176 | 744 | 4.23 | 5 |
| Jay Ajayi, Mia.-Phil. | 208 | 873 | 4.20 | 1 |
| Isaiah Crowell, Clev. | 206 | 853 | 4.14 | 2 |
| C.J. Anderson, Den. | 245 | 1007 | 4.11 | 3 |
| Jordan Howard, Chi. | 276 | 1122 | 4.07 | 9 |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 242 | 983 | 4.06 | 7 |
| Tevin Coleman, Atl. | 156 | 628 | 4.03 | 5 |
| LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | 321 | 1291 | 4.02 | 9 |
| LeSean McCoy, Buff. | 287 | 1138 | 3.97 | 6 |
| Peyton Barber, T.B. | 108 | 423 | 3.92 | 3 |
| Carlos Hyde, S.F. | 240 | 938 | 3.91 | 8 |
| Latavius Murray, Minn. | 216 | 842 | 3.90 | 8 |
| Melvin Gordon, LAC | 284 | 1105 | 3.89 | 8 |
| Leonard Fournette, Jac. | 268 | 1040 | 3.88 | 9 |
| Javorius Allen, Balt. | 153 | 591 | 3.86 | 4 |
| Jerick McKinnon, Minn. | 150 | 570 | 3.80 | 3 |
| Lamar Miller, Hou. | 238 | 888 | 3.73 | 3 |
| Christian McCaffrey, Car. | 117 | 435 | 3.72 | 2 |
| Matt Forte, NYJ | 103 | 381 | 3.70 | 2 |
| Mike Gillislee, N.E. | 104 | 383 | 3.68 | 5 |
| Frank Gore, Ind. | 261 | 961 | 3.68 | 3 |
| Jamaal Williams, G.B. | 153 | 556 | 3.63 | 4 |
| DeMarco Murray, Tenn. | 184 | 659 | 3.58 | 6 |
| Kerwynn Williams, Ariz. | 120 | 426 | 3.55 | 1 |
| Joe Mixon, Cin. | 178 | 626 | 3.52 | 4 |
| Samaje Perine, Wash. | 175 | 603 | 3.45 | 1 |
| Jonathan Stewart, Car. | 198 | 680 | 3.43 | 6 |
| Chris Ivory, Jac. | 112 | 382 | 3.41 | 1 |
| Adrian Peterson, N.O.-Ariz. | 156 | 529 | 3.39 | 2 |
| Ameer Abdullah, Det. | 165 | 552 | 3.35 | 4 |
| Doug Martin, T.B. | 138 | 406 | 2.94 | 3 |
Problem with Breida (who oddly also played his college ball at Georgia Southern) is that he’s been pretty awful as a pass catcher. That’s an issue, with Shanahan wanting running backs who can consistently catch dumpoff passes.
Breida is also undersized – just 190 pounds. I’m expecting a committee in San Francisco, and some chance that some other running back will be part of it at some point. Joe Williams and Jeremy McNichols are no doubt working on their games after not getting on the field (in the regular season) as rookies.
—Ian Allan