The San Francisco 49ers walked into Levi’s Stadium in Week 1 with aspirations of returning to the Super Bowl, riding the arm of Brock Purdy and legs of Christian McCaffrey.
Unfortunately for the Niners, the latter star won’t be available in their Monday Night Football opener against the New York Jets. McCaffrey is dealing with a calf ailment, and he’s inactive for tonight’s game.
With CMC sidelined, who will have a larger role in the 49ers’ zone-read ground attack? Let’s examine the three players who will have to step up in McCaffrey’s absence. It’s worth noting that these three options have a combined zero starts and 148 carries.
Who Is Jordan Mason?
Mason is going to get the start in McCaffrey’s place. This will be his first time in the starting lineup, and he’ll do it in prime time on Monday Night Football.
Mason is entering his third NFL season and has received rotational action already for the 49ers. He’s combined for 464 rushing yards and four rushing scores throughout his NFL career. Last season, while spelling McCaffrey, he totaled 206 rushing yards.
Mason figures to handle the inside dirty work for the ground attack as a 5’11”, 223-pound option. But the 49ers can also pivot to a cat-quick option in McCaffrey’s absence.
Who Is Isaac Guerendo?
Guerendo is the newcomer in the running back room in Santa Clara. Guerendo
Guerendo was selected in the fourth round (No. 129 overall) in the 2024 NFL Draft. Now, the rookie will see more touches than originally anticipated.
Guerendo is best known for his blazing 4.33-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, which led all running backs. He also posted a 41.5-inch vertical jump, which again ranked first at his position. That performance at the NFL Combine helped convince the Niners to take him in the fourth round.
The 6’0″, 220-pounder racked up 1,392 career rushing yards and 17 touchdowns for Louisville.
Who Is Patrick Taylor Jr.?
Taylor is actually one of the older options available in the 49ers’ backfield.
He’s a 26-year-old veteran who came to San Francisco via free agency. Taylor spent his first three NFL seasons with the Green Bay Packers.
While with Green Bay, the towering 6’2″, 217-pounder played in 65 total games but he never started. He ended up tallying 261 rushing yards and scored just one touchdown in his three seasons.
Taylor signed a one-year, $1.055 million deal with the 49ers over the offseason.
What Happened to Elijah Mitchell?
Mitchell, who led San Francisco in rushing during the 2021 season, is the seemingly forgotten running back in this backfield.
In 2021, Mitchell was a sixth-round find who managed to work his way onto the roster and up the depth chart amid some key injuries — notably to Raheem Mostert, who suffered an ACL tear in Week 1. Mitchell nearly surpassed 1,000 yards — settling for 963 — for a 49ers team that advanced to the NFC title game.
But since then, Mitchell hasn’t surpassed 282 rushing yards in a season. He’s gone from starting in 10 games his rookie season to only earning one in 2022 and 2023.
Worse for Mitchell, he got beat out by Jordan Mason as the No. 2 back behind McCaffrey during training camp, and then he suffered a season-ending hamstring tear.
Mitchell is on injured reserve, meaning the 49ers are down two running backs entering the 2024 season.