Jerick McKinnon, Matt Breida, Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson and now Tevin Coleman. San Francisco inked Coleman to a two-year, $10 million deal Wednesday. The 49ers running back depth chart is loaded with talent that will make trimming the roster extremely difficult.
McKinnon missed all of last season with a torn ACL, but he was San Francisco’s top free agent target last offseason. Head coach Kyle Shanahan wants him to be a big-time playmaker as a runner and receiver in the offense. We haven’t seen him with the 49ers in the regular season, but it stands to reason that his skill set would translate to productivity in one of the league’s best rushing attacks.
Breida was sensational in Year 2 despite nursing an ankle injury for most of the year. He racked up 814 yards and three touchdowns on 153 carries in 14 games. He also posted 27 catches for 261 yards and two touchdowns. The undrafted free agent didn’t disappoint when handed the keys in 2018, and he showed a ton of big-play potential when he’s healthy and getting touches.
The 49ers opted to place a one-year tender on Motsert, who’s a restricted free agent this offseason. He’s a dynamite special teams player, but showed a ton of explosiveness as a runner in Shanahan’s offense in limited opportunity last season. He put up an impressive 7.7 yards-per-attempt on 34 carries before a broken forearm put him out for the year.
Undrafted rookie Jeff Wilson was also good when called upon toward the end of last season. He rushed 66 times for 266 yards and brought a different kind of nastiness with his running style that the 49ers’ backfield lacked.
Coleman was terrific in his first opportunity as a full-time starter for the Falcons last season. He put up career highs virtually across the board, notching career bests in starts, carries, rushing attempts, rushing yards, and receptions. He should figure in heavily to the 49ers’ offense from Day 1 since he’s already familiar with Shanahan’s offense from their time together in Atlanta.
Running back didn’t appear to be a huge need for San Francisco given Shanahan and running backs coach Bobby Turner’s ability to manufacture productive backs seemingly out of thin air. However, the Coleman signing makes a lot of sense.
The 49ers didn’t have a single running back play all 16 games last year. McKinnon tore his ACL before the season began, so long-term effects of that injury still hang over his 2019 campaign. Breida dealt with multiple injuries last season, including an ankle that he played through, but also forced him out of two games. Mostert broke his forearm in Week 9 just as he started getting rolling on the ground.
San Francisco’s offense revolves around their running game. They need to run the football effectively in order for the rest of their offense to tick. Dipping into their practice squad isn’t an ideal scenario they’ll want to be faced with again.
Coleman gives them a player who’s proven to be productive in Shanahan’s scheme, but now the coaching staff has some decisions to make.
They’ll likely keep three running backs, and Mostert is almost a shoo-in because of his special teams prowess. He’s arguably their best coverage man. That leaves two spots for McKinnon, Coleman and Breida – unless they want to keep four running backs active on game days.
McKinnon has no guaranteed money left on the four-year, $30 million deal he signed last offseason. San Francisco could conceivably make him a post-June 1 cap casualty and take on just $2 million in dead money. It’s $6 million if they release him prior to June 1 according to Over the Cap.
The more likely option with McKinnon, because of his ACL tear, is to put him on the Physically Unable to Perform list to start the year and push the decision back until sometime near the middle of the season. That’ll allow them to use the trio of Coleman, Breida and Mostert for the first several weeks while keeping all four on the roster.
There’s little incentive to cut Breida, who’s in the final year of his undrafted rookie deal and coming off a year where he averaged more than 5.0 yards-per-carry and improved as a pass catcher. He’ll earn just $645,000 this season.
Mostert’s value lies mostly in his special teams ability. There’s a chance San Francisco lets Mostert go and tries to find a productive special teams player elsewhere. On the other hand, special teams players as good as Mostert are valuable, and he flashed explosive, big-play potential when asked to run the ball a season ago.
Too many good players is a fine problem to have, and the 49ers are faced with it when assessing their running back depth chart. Either way, they appear primed to roll out an electric rushing attack next season that could open the floodgates for Shanahan’s offense in San Francisco.
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