With Jerick McKinnon, you either believe or you don't. Either you see him as an overpaid, overrated guy who never really took advantage of his opportunities in Minnesota, or you see the centerpiece of San Francisco's offense in 2018, one of the league's few three-down backs. We won't know for sure until the games start.
But even if he is a little overrated, he has a great chance of being a very good fantasy option. Especially in PPR leagues. The way he's being paid, he should be San Francisco's main running back. And in that offense, elite talent or no, he's going to catch a lot of passes.
A year ago, Carlos Hyde accounted for 16 percent of the team's receptions. That's despite a couple of points during the season where he seemed to be in the doghouse, losing a lot of work to Matt Breida. Only seven running backs accounted for a higher percentage of their team's receptions last year, and most of those guys are elite pass catching backs: Bell, Gurley, Kamara, McCoy, McCaffrey and Duke Johnson, plus Tarik Cohen.
| RB RECEPTIONS, % OF TEAM, 2017 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | I.Rec | I.Yds | T.Rec | T.Yds | %Rec | %Yds |
| Christian McCaffrey, Car. | 80 | 651 | 293 | 3319 | 27% | 20% |
| Duke Johnson, Clev. | 74 | 693 | 312 | 3537 | 24% | 20% |
| LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | 85 | 655 | 384 | 4534 | 22% | 14% |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 81 | 826 | 389 | 4619 | 21% | 18% |
| LeSean McCoy, Buff. | 59 | 448 | 289 | 3086 | 20% | 15% |
| Todd Gurley, LAR | 64 | 788 | 320 | 4023 | 20% | 20% |
| Tarik Cohen, Chi. | 53 | 358 | 291 | 3085 | 18% | 12% |
| Carlos Hyde, S.F. | 59 | 350 | 362 | 4235 | 16% | 8% |
| Melvin Gordon, LAC | 58 | 476 | 366 | 4551 | 16% | 10% |
| Mark Ingram, N.O. | 58 | 416 | 389 | 4619 | 15% | 9% |
| Kareem Hunt, K.C. | 53 | 455 | 363 | 4326 | 15% | 11% |
| James White, N.E. | 56 | 429 | 386 | 4334 | 15% | 10% |
| Jerick McKinnon, Minn. | 51 | 421 | 357 | 3929 | 14% | 11% |
| Theo Riddick, Det. | 53 | 444 | 374 | 4470 | 14% | 10% |
| Giovani Bernard, Cin. | 43 | 389 | 304 | 3386 | 14% | 11% |
| DeMarco Murray, Tenn. | 39 | 266 | 306 | 3394 | 13% | 8% |
| Javorius Allen, Balt. | 46 | 250 | 363 | 3235 | 13% | 8% |
| Lamar Miller, Hou. | 36 | 327 | 299 | 3644 | 12% | 9% |
| Shane Vereen, NYG | 44 | 253 | 373 | 3680 | 12% | 7% |
| Matt Forte, NYJ | 37 | 293 | 323 | 3501 | 11% | 8% |
| Leonard Fournette, Jac. | 36 | 302 | 316 | 3716 | 11% | 8% |
| Chris Thompson, Wash. | 39 | 510 | 347 | 4093 | 11% | 12% |
| Devonta Freeman, Atl. | 36 | 317 | 343 | 4146 | 10% | 8% |
| Frank Gore, Ind. | 29 | 245 | 285 | 3226 | 10% | 8% |
| J.D. McKissic, Sea. | 34 | 266 | 340 | 3979 | 10% | 7% |
| Joe Mixon, Cin. | 30 | 287 | 304 | 3386 | 10% | 8% |
| DeAndre Washington, Oak. | 34 | 197 | 347 | 3761 | 10% | 5% |
| Andre Ellington, Ariz. | 33 | 297 | 339 | 3979 | 10% | 7% |
| T.J. Yeldon, Jac. | 30 | 224 | 316 | 3716 | 9% | 6% |
| Charles Sims, T.B. | 35 | 249 | 378 | 4607 | 9% | 5% |
| Kyle Juszczyk, S.F. | 33 | 315 | 362 | 4235 | 9% | 7% |
| Wayne Gallman, NYG | 34 | 193 | 373 | 3680 | 9% | 5% |
| Danny Woodhead, Balt. | 33 | 200 | 363 | 3235 | 9% | 6% |
| Devontae Booker, Den. | 30 | 275 | 332 | 3668 | 9% | 7% |
| Isaiah Crowell, Clev. | 28 | 182 | 312 | 3537 | 9% | 5% |
| Kenyan Drake, Mia. | 32 | 239 | 373 | 3792 | 9% | 6% |
McKinnon himself was also productive in this area. He accounted for 14 percent of Minnesota's receptions last season. And he steps into an offense that should give him plenty of opportunities for similar production.
He'll need to be effective, of course, and hold off a couple of second-year backs, Joe Williams and Matt Breida. Needs to be a more effective runner than he was for most of his Minnesota tenure. But while he's in the lineup, he should be one of the league's busier receivers at the position.
--Andy Richardson