San Francisco 49ers: A few takeaways from the preseason opener
Joe Williams
On to something positive about the 49ers first preseason game — Joe Williams. We listed Williams as one of the key players to watch in yesterday’s game preview and Williams lived up to the calling.
Williams saw a lot of action last night after Jerick McKinnon only played one series, and Breida left with his shoulder injury. Williams didn’t replace Breida and McKinnon right out of the gates, Raheem Mostert got the call first, to spell the two starters.
Although Williams’ box score stats wouldn’t “wow” the casual viewer, Williams had some strong runs, showing the explosiveness that Shanahan saw in him last year during draft time.
Williams got the most carries out of the 49ers’ backfield, with 11 carries and gained 27 yards (2.5 yards/carry) while adding a pair of catches for 15 yards. Williams did also score the 49ers first touchdown of the game, taking a goal-line carry between the tackle and guard.
Overall, it was a solid performance for Joe Williams. He showed improvement in his conditioning, staying in the game for multiple plays at a time, and showed some toughness both physically and emotionally (If you haven’t read about Williams’ brother-in-law’s death give it a read).
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The reason why Williams is a big takeaway from the first preseason game is due to Breida’s injury. With Breida likely to miss the remainder of the preseason, that opens up more opportunity for Williams and Mostert to battle for the third running back roster spot.
Mostert led the team with 57 rushing yards on eight carries, but lost a fumble in one of his carries. So it’s safe to say that with Williams’ skillset and with Mostert’s contribution on special teams, it’s anybody’s guess who gets the roster spot.
We’ll continue to see Williams and Mostert get extensive action during the preseason until Shanahan figures out who should claim that third running back role.