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The 49ers’ running-back-by-committee approach is officially a thing of the past. A remnant of years past when San Francisco didn’t have a back who was capable of producing regularly and durable enough to shoulder a lion’s share of the workload. Rookie sixth-round pick Elijah Mitchell has changed the script for head coach Kyle Shanahan’s running back usage.
There were several reasons for the committee approach at running back during the first four years of Shanahan’s tenure, but it was never the ideal design. Carlos Hyde carried most of the load in 2017, but Matt Breida and Alfred Morris shared a backfield in 2018. In 2019 it was Tevin Coleman, Raheem Mostert and Breida. Last season Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr. and Jerick McKinnon all saw semi-regular carries.
Now the backfield belongs to Mitchell, and that doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon.
He’s the team’s leader in carries with 81 after notching 18 in Sunday’s win over the Bears. It’s the fourth time this season he’s had more than 17 carries, something Mostert has only done twice in the regular season. Breida and Coleman only did it twice apiece as well. Only Wilson has done that more times since 2018, and he did it four times across three seasons.
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The only other player getting any kind of carries is JaMycal Hasty, who’s mostly working on third down. He has 12 attempts this season, but five of those came in Week 2 when he was pushed into a bigger role by other injuries in the backfield. He’s had three attempts in each of San Francisco’s last two games.
Rookie third-round pick Trey Sermon is actually second on the team in rush attempts with 31, but he’s been phased out of the offense entirely. He has 31 carries, but only one over the last three weeks. He had 29 carries in the two weeks Mitchell was sidelined, but Mitchell’s return relegated Sermon back to a bench role.
It’s hard to fault the 49ers for leaning on their sixth-round pick. With Mostert out for the year, their rushing attack was missing an explosive, big-play element. Mitchell’s style makes him a perfect replacement, and he’s turned it into an extremely productive first five games. He’s up to 433 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 81 carries.
The 49ers have plenty of talent in their backfield, but the committee has been disbanded. Mitchell is their lead back, and at this rate it’s difficult to see San Francisco going another route any time soon.
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