The San Francisco 49ers just can’t catch a break when it comes to injuries. After losing key player after key player throughout the 2024 NFL season, San Francisco has now placed Christian McCaffrey (knee) and Jordan Mason (ankle) on injured reserve. With McCaffrey and Mason likely out for the remainder of the season, who is left in the 49ers’ backfield?
San Francisco’s Running Back Depth Chart
After putting McCaffrey and Mason on IR, the 49ers entered the week with just two running backs on their active roster: Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr. However, on Tuesday, the team claimed Israel Abanikanda off waivers.
Here’s everything you need to know about Guerendo, Taylor, and Abanikanda.
Who Is Isaac Guerendo?
Guerendo is the newcomer in the running back room in Santa Clara.
Guerendo was selected in the fourth round (No. 129 overall) in the 2024 NFL Draft. The rookie entered the season as the fourth option on the 49ers’ depth chart, so he has seen 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 throughout his collegiate career.
This season, the 24-year-old has rushed 42 times for 246 yards and two touchdowns while also adding five catches and 19 receiving yards.
From a fantasy standpoint, Guerendo is the 49ers running back to own. He’ll get the most opportunities, and he has already shown what he can do when given significant touches. In the lone game when Guerendo played more than 50% of the snaps (Week 8 vs. the Dallas Cowboys), he saw 18 opportunities and scored 19.2 fantasy points.
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.
This season, Taylor has only received seven carries for 25 yards, plus one reception for 12 yards. He’s now at 286 rushing yards, 81 receiving yards, and one TD for his NFL career.
Taylor signed a one-year, $1.055 million deal with the 49ers over the offseason.
Who Is Israel Abanikanda?
Abanikanda was drafted by the New York Jets in the fifth round (No. 143 overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft. Over his first two NFL seasons, he appeared in six games and carried the ball 22 times for 70 yards to go along with seven receptions for 43 yards. This season, Abanikanda was inactive for every game before the Jets ultimately waived him on Monday.
In college, the 5’10”, 216-pound back broke Pittsburgh’s single-game rushing yards record that was previously held by Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett, turning 36 carries into 320 yards and six touchdowns against Virginia Tech in 2022. He finished his collegiate career with 2,177 yards, 28 rushing touchdowns, 354 receiving yards, and three receiving scores.
That’s Pitt Legend Israel “Izzy” Abanikanda 🥲
(@SSN_Pitt / @Pitt_FB)pic.twitter.com/RlWFfFbxPu https://t.co/pumOEIkn0c
— SleeperCFB (@SleeperCFB) December 3, 2024
During the pre-draft process, Abanikanda posted an astonishing 41″ in the vertical jump and ran an unofficial 4.41 40-yard dash, which some onlookers timed in the 4.3 range.
Coming out of college, Pro Football Network’s scouting report of Abanikanda raved about his “universal scheme versatility as a runner” and noted that he “has the build of a workhorse and the athleticism of a true dynamic NFL runner.” PFN’s NFL Draft Analyst Ian Cummings projected that he could become “a productive impact starter at the NFL level for a long time, with the ability to contribute on all three downs.”
While he struggled to earn a significant role in New York behind Breece Hall, Braelon Allen, and Co., perhaps he can realize his potential in San Francisco.
What Happened to Elijah Mitchell?
Mitchell is also on injured reserve with a season-ending injury, but his occurred during training camp. After getting beat out by Mason as the No. 2 RB behind McCaffrey, Mitchell suffered a hamstring tear that ended his year prematurely.
In 2021, Mitchell was a sixth-round pick 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 led San Francisco in rushing during the 2021 season and 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 start in 2022 and 2023.
If there’s any system that can thrive with reserve running backs, it’s Kyle Shanahan’s, as evidenced by the success of Mitchell and Mason. Shanahan’s father, Mike, was a legendary head coach who used the same system, and he had six different 1,000-yard rushers throughout his coaching career.