The San Francisco 49ers have one of the most valuable running backs in the NFL in Christian McCaffrey, who is coming off a season where he was a finalist for three prestigious awards.
McCaffrey’s rushing numbers weren’t great this past season. Despite not missing a game, he didn’t have a rush longer than 20 yards until the back half of the year. After the bye week, McCaffrey had two of those. His damage came as a receiver, leading the team with 924 receiving yards.
Some fans were reluctant to admit McCaffrey’s speed wasn’t the same. The data proves it: there were no touches this season in which McCaffrey surpassed 20 miles per hour. In 2023, before the Achilles injury, McCaffrey was a mainstay on Next Gen Stats’ speed leaderboard.
McCaffrey remained effective, despite not having those 60-yard touchdown runs that felt inevitable two years ago. He turns 30 in June, and that’s when running backs historically hit a wall. McCaffrey still has two years remaining on his contract, but there is no guaranteed money left on his deal.
As we begin our positional exit interviews, we’ll highlight three strengths, two weaknesses, and then project how the room will look heading into 2026.
Running back strengths
Versatility
McCaffrey was the definition of an “eligible” player, which is how we should describe players in 2026. If you can run and catch, your value skyrockets. McCaffrey caught 102 passes, and 49 of those went for first downs. It’s impossible to scheme against somebody lining up in the backfield because there are so many ways for him to get open. More often than not, he’ll be defended against one of your worst coverage players. McCaffrey lined up in the slot just over 14 percent of the time, and occasionally would line up out wide. Ultimately, his seven receiving touchdowns and high reception percentage made him a cheat code out of the backfield.
Elusiveness
McCaffrey had a career high of 982 yards after contact, per Next Gen Stats. Surprisingly, most of his damage came between the tackles. Despite having 49 fewer carries inside the tackles, McCaffrey had three more 10+ yard carries, averaged 1.4 yards more per carry, and had a rushing EPA of +7.9 compared to -35.8. As a receiver, he was +142 in yards after the catch over expected.
All of that was because the first defender couldn’t tackle McCaffrey. His elusiveness and ability to manipulate defenders in space remain at a high level. Even if McCaffrey no longer possesses the speed he had a couple of years ago, there is no drop-off in this department.
Durability
Saying this about any 49ers position feels foolish, but we just watched McCaffrey shoulder the workload of an entire offense all season and never miss a game. When you think about the wear and tear McCaffrey went through, his season becomes more impressive. The 49ers finished toward the bottom of the league in yards before contact allowed. Plus, McCaffrey was targeted at an extremely high rate. He was getting battered and bruised all year, yet the most he would miss would be a series or two in a game.
Running back weaknesses
Question marks behind McCaffrey
Part of the reason McCaffrey was used as often as he was, outside of it being McCaffrey, was the lack of trust Kyle Shanahan had in the players behind his starter. You’d hear fans during the season ask why Brian Robinson wasn’t getting more carries. Then you’d see Robinson average 2.3, 3.3, 3.3, 3.7 yards per carry in a game when he had north of five attempts. Robinson ran people over, which fans thought was cool, but he was not dynamic and left plenty of meat on the bone.
Isaac Guerendo not having a single carry all year tells you how the coaching staff feels about him as a ball carrier. Jordan James’ injury basically cost him his rookie season. We didn’t see James until the third quarter of a playoff game. In limited action, he looked like an upgrade from Robinson.
Less could be more with McCaffrey moving forward, especially if the plan is to ensure CMC can stay on the field all season. The 49ers must determine whether James or someone off the roster can be the RB2. McCaffrey said he was open to bringing in help. He was durable in 2025. But with a similar workload in 2026, that health feels like fool’s gold.
Lack of a big play threat
One year after we watched Guerendo have a 76-yard run, a 30-yard run, a 40 and a 27-yard reception, we are saying the 49ers lack speed at the position. You can’t count Guerendo if he’s not going to be used.
Look at the two teams in the Super Bowl. Rooke TreVeyon Henderson averaged 12.58 miles per hour on his rush attempts during the regular season, which was the seventh fastest in the NFL. That speed translates. Henderson averaged an extra 7.2 yards gained per missed tackle forced.
Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker recordered 33 runs of 10+ yards, and averaged 13.2 miles per hour on his rushes, which was the third-fastest mark. In the two final games against the 49ers, we saw how much of a difference speed makes.
That’s not to say the 49ers should go out and draft a 4.3 running back and hope he’s a scheme fit, but we know how easy the offense looked in 2023. Even if James is the RB2, there will be a lack of a big-play threat at the position.
How does the RB room look in 2026?
Robinson is an unrestricted free agent. There’s little reason for the 49ers to bring him back. Robinson’s ability in the passing game was minimal, and he didn’t add enough as a runner to warrant more playing time.
There will be plenty of speed available at the running back position in free agency this offseason. Names like Travis Etienne, Breece Hall, and Kenneth Walker are all available. An interesting name to watch is Ravens running back Keaton Mitchell, who is a restricted free agent, but he was undrafted, making his tender something to monitor. Mitchell, 24, was the fastest running back on average this past season.
- McCaffrey
- James
- Rookie
- Free agent
Letting Robinson walk and releasing Guerendo wouldn’t be surprising. The 49ers have drafted running backs seemingly every year, and signing another contributor in free agency also makes sense. In a dream world, a player like Tyler Allgeier is brought in, and that’s your 1-2 punch. But Allgeier is a starter and may not want to split time in his second contract as he did in his first.
Another player who would complement McCaffrey and checks multiple boxes is Kenneth Gainwell, who was targeted on 27.2 percent of his routes in 2025, the highest mark in the NFL. Gainwell reached a top speed of over 15 miles per hour on nearly a quarter of his rushes, which was the third-best in the league. He also averaged a 10+ yard run at the fourth-highest rate. Gainwell turns 27 in March and would give the 49ers a quality backfield and still allow James to get touches as a runner.
