RADIO
Elijah Mitchell 2023 Outlook: Will Need To Be Efficient With Limited Volume
2 years agoSan Francisco 49ers running back Elijah Mitchell is entering his third year in the league, and his first full season running behind Christian McCaffrey. Mitchell only played in five regular season games in 2022 due to injury, but still saw decent usage despite McCaffrey being the 1A option in the backfield. Mitchell has been productive when healthy over his first two seasons in the league, and he will need to remain efficient this season in order to have any standalone fantasy value. He averaged 11.2 touches per game in games where both he and McCaffrey played, which is enough to consider him as a matchup-dependent flex option in 2023. Mitchell's true 2023 value is as Christian McCaffrey's handcuff, which has been a valuable player to roster over the past two seasons. If you roster McCaffrey, be sure to use a later-round pick on Mitchell. Even if you don't roster McCaffrey, Mitchell is a good RB4 target given his standalone value and extreme upside should McCaffrey miss any time.
