There aren’t many No. 1, workhorse running backs in the NFL anymore. San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason certainly fits the bill though.
Mason has taken full advantage of his opportunity to be the 49ers’ lead RB with Christian McCaffrey sidelined by Achilles tendinitis, and he’s worked as essentially the 49ers’ lone running back during the first three weeks of the season. That may change soon.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Friday in his press conference indicated that rookie RB Isaac Guerendo may start becoming a bigger factor in the backfield.
“He showed on film what he has been showing us,” Shanahan said of Guerendo’s five-carry, 19-yard performance in Week 3. “We’ve been encouraged about him for a while. He got off to a late start with his training camp injury, but we were encouraged with his preseason play. Everyone, I think, saw that with his kick return and stuff. He had two runs in that game that were encouraging and always a chance to get more.”
It’s unlikely that Mason suddenly starts splitting carries with Guerendo. He’s been too successful to just remove from the field too often. Mason is up to 342 yards and two touchdowns on a league-high 67 attempts.
However, Guerendo drew a fascinating comparison from 49ers offensive line coach and run game coordinator Chris Foerster. He compared the rookie fourth-round pick to former 49ers RB Raheem Mostert.
Mostert was known for his downhill style and his home run speed that made him a threat to score a touchdown every time he touched the ball. While Mason has been good, he’s not a home run threat. His longest run of the year is just 24 yards. His longest touchdown of the year is 10.
Guerendo may be able to provide some of the long explosive play ability that Mason doesn’t have. That doesn’t mean he should start seeing 10-12 carries a game, but he had five in Week 3 after getting only one in the first two weeks combined.
It’s reasonable to think Guerendo could start snagging eight or so carries per game to lighten some of the workload on Mason, and to add the big-play element the 49ers’ backfield is missing.
Mason is still RB1, to be sure, but Guerendo appears to be on the verge of becoming more of a factor.
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