The focus for the San Francisco 49ers' offense in 2025 is likely to re-establish All-Pro star Christian McCaffrey. His return to the offense will help dictate how far this team can go in 2025. Yet, it's fair to wonder what he can offer a team, after all, he's not only injury prone, but he's also 29 years old now. Injuries become more regular the older you get in life, not to mention as a running back in the NFL.
The 49ers can't afford another season of a mediocre running game, should McCaffrey not stay healthy, worse, stay healthy but not return to form. That's one of the reasons why they took former Oregon running back Jordan James in the 2025 NFL Draft. James did well at Oregon, averaging over six yards over his last two seasons as a member of the Ducks, rushing for over 2,000 yards over those two seasons and scoring 26 touchdowns in just 2023 and 2024.
To say he was explosive and hard to tackle would be an understatement. That same hard-running mentality has transferred well to the San Francisco 49ers, with head coach Kyle Shanahan praising the rookie for his efforts in camp. It got a lot of fans excited to see what he can do going forward.
Sadly, a broken finger has stalled his preseason efforts, ensuring he'll miss several weeks. This will open the door for Corey Kiner to get more action as both James and McCaffrey come back into the fray later on in the preseason.
James isn't a lock to be the team's number two running back, but he is making many wonder what he's capable of long-term in this backfield and with Shanahan as his head coach. His injury has derailed what was a promising camp for the rookie, and it'll likely be well into the regular season before we see him back and ready to go.
Hopefully, when he does return to action, he returns with the same intensity that he had prior to his injury. If he does, he could be a surprise hit for the 49ers early in the season.