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San Francisco 49ers running back Jerick McKinnon is out for the season with a torn ACL, so someone must step up in his place. Daniel Dobish analyzes the Niners backfield to determine which RB fantasy football owners should draft or add through waivers.
Fantasy players who have already participated in their drafts received an unexpected spot of bad news over the Labor Day weekend when San Francisco 49ers running back Jerick McKinnon suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee while making a cut during a practice session. It was especially untimely for the club, too, coming on the same exact day they were cutting down to their final 53-man roster.
The bad news is that they handed McKinnon a wheelbarrow full of cash during the offseason, inking the former Georgia Southern standout to a four-year, $30 million contract. The good news is that they have options, and fantasy owners will want to pay attention.
Check our newly updated RB rankings here to see what the running back landscape looks like now.
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Where Does San Fran Go From Here?
Matt Breida knows the playbook and the system, and he is projected to be the primary backup and third-down option out of the backfield. As far as the main workload is concerned, veteran Alfred Morris is expected to get first crack at the early-down carries and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan has declared him the de facto starter.
The former sixth-round pick out of Florida Atlantic University posted three straight 1,000-yard campaigns to open his NFL career with the Washington Redskins, including 13 rushing touchdowns in his amazing rookie season of 2012. He also averaged 4.8 yards per carry in his first-year campaign. In total, he had 28 rushing touchdowns in his first three seasons inside the Beltline while rumbling for 3,962 yards.
In 2015, Morris split carries with Matt Jones and Chris Thompson, and his production started to power down. In 2016, he moved on to the Dallas Cowboys and had a total of just 72 touches. Last season, 'Fredo Sauce', as he is nicknamed, had his most productive campaign since his rookie year in terms of yards per carry. He rolled up 4.8 yards per tote to finish with 547 yards on 115 attempts, getting a bulk of his work during Ezekiel Elliott's suspension. Morris proved he still can be a dependable back in this league despite a lot of early mileage on his tires.
Morris and Breida have each had their average draft position (ADP) rise significantly in the past couple of days. Both of the players have settled into the middle rounds on draft day, as fantasy owners add each for depth as a third or fourth option across various formats. In standard play, Morris is a strong addition since he will see a bulk of the carries on first and second down. In formats which reward points per reception (PPR), Morris isn't as attractive considering the fact he has just 57 catches through his first six seasons.
Breida, who ironically took over for McKinnon at Georgia Southern upon the latter's graduation in Statesboro, is the player to target for catches out of the backfield. The undrafted free agent racked up 465 yards, 4.4 yards per carry and two rushing scores while ending up with 21 catches, 180 yards and a score in his rookie campaign of 2017. He found himself fighting for scraps last season with Carlos Hyde in charge of the early-down duties.
Shanahan wanted McKinnon in this system because he was viewed as a player who could run hard between the tackles, but also show finesse and agility by catching balls out of the backfield. The 49ers have that even after his injury, but it will be two guys filling those two roles. Don't forget about Raheem Mostert, either. He isn't likely to factor in much during the early going, but he could be someone who ends up being a touchdown vulture, seeing goal-line situational work and short-yardage assignments, if nothing else but to preserve Morris for the long haul.
