The San Francisco 49ers made it to the Super Bowl with a 37-20 win over the Green Bay Packers. They did it without almost nothing from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who only attempted eight passes.
They ran the ball 42 times, led by Raheem Mostert’s 220 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries.
Mostert, a former undrafted free agent, began the year as the team’s third-string running back.
With the 49ers’ success, there has been talk about how the Arizona Cardinals should follow the 49ers in how they have approached the running game. Essentially, there is no need to invest much at running back. That would lead to unloading David Johnson and letting Kenyan Drake leave in free agency if the price gets too high.
That sounds good, but the logic is slightly flawed.
First, the 49ers did invest in the position. They gave Jerick McKinnon a four-year, $30 million deal and he has not played a down for them in two years. They signed Tevin Coleman for two years and $8.5 million.
Here’s the thing. The 49ers’ success in the running game can be attributed to, in part, the play of their offensive line. They have a very good run-blocking line. According to Football Outsiders, they have the No. 8-rated run-blocking line. The success starts there. They rank No. 5 in RB yards.
The Cardinals, who had the No. 9 rushing attack in the league and were No. 2 in rushing average, were rated 21st in run blocking as an offensive line. They rank eighth in RB yards.
The great discrepancy suggests the Cardinals need greater talent at running back for success in the running game.
A team with a great run-blocking line can plug in more or less any back and have success. Others need more talent at running back.
As things stand now, it appears the Cardinals will probably stay mostly the same on the offensive line, perhaps getting a new right tackle. If their run-blocking rating is roughly what it was in 2019, if they are going to be a great rushing offense, they need more than just any running back.
That isn’t to say they should give Drake a David Johnson-like contract, but if the offensive line personnel is going to stay more or less the same, then they need equivalent talent at running back.
San Francisco might go into the Super Bowl with three undrafted running backs. They have done a fantastic job of scouting backs who fit their system and letting them have success.
It would be great to see the Cardinals do that in addition to having a dynamic Kyler Murray. However, to do that, they have to do more than simply stick to undrafted backs and avoiding big contracts at the position.
They have to have the infrastructure in place for those types of players to succeed.
[vertical-gallery id=430331]
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.
Ep. 255
[protected-iframe id=”5a077b6c80e43549964e9cb25d81401e-112738498-106269283″ info=”https://api.spreaker.com/v2/episodes/21468690/download.mp3″ ]
Ep. 254
[protected-iframe id=”cf5e5fef1c00053a25fea0111e1875e9-112738498-106269283″ info=”https://api.spreaker.com/v2/episodes/21222569/download.mp3″ ]