San Francisco 49ers: A few players critical to team’s success in 2018
By Kevin Saito
McKinnon is coming into the team with some very large shoes to fill. Namely those of Carlos Hyde – San Francisco’s leading rusher in each of the last three seasons.
Hyde was a large part of San Francisco’s offense – actually, when Blaine Gabbert, Brian Hoyer, and C.J. Beathard were under center for the 49ers, he was often their only source of offense. Hyde pounded the ball, moved the chains, and kept the offense moving in a forward direction.
With Hyde now in Cleveland, McKinnon steps into the featured back role having never had more than 159 carries in any one season. And yet, he’s now supposed to carry the load for the team’s running game.
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In Atlanta, Shanahan had Deconta Freeman, who is five-foot-eight, 206 pounds, and Tevin Coleman, who is six-foot-one, 210 pounds. McKinnon, at five-foot-nine, 205 pounds, very clearly fits the profile of the kind of running back Shanahan likes to employ in his system.
And in Shanahan’s system, Freeman and Coleman formed a pretty potent one-two punch. In 2016 – Shanahan’s last season as offensive coordinator in Atlanta – the pair combined for 2,482 yards from scrimmage and 24 touchdowns, which was a significant chunk of the Falcons’ total offense.
It seems pretty likely that Shanahan is trying to re-create that dynamic with McKinnon and the five-foot-eleven, 190 pound Matt Breida.
Make no mistake though, San Francisco’s running game is going to focus on McKinnon. The question is, will he be able to shoulder the load on himself, or will be buckle beneath the burden. Having never been a featured back in an offense before, it’s more than a fair question to ask.
The 49ers have to hope that when the lights are the brightest and the pressure is on, that McKinnon can live up to that four-year, $36 million dollar deal he was handed this offseason. In fact, much of San Francisco’s offensive success depends upon it.