It was Kyle Shanahan’s turn to speak on Monday morning at the NFL’s annual meetings. The San Francisco 49ers hit on similar topics as general manager John Lynch did. One quote that stood out was about the running back room and taking some of the workload off Christian McCaffrey.
While complimentary of Jordan James and Isaac Guerendo, Shanahan realizes that McCaffrey can’t have another season where he has over 400 touches. That was the case during another MVP-caliber year, where McCaffrey surpassed 2,100 yards from scrimmage while starting all 17 games. However, it was only the second time since 2020 that McCaffrey didn’t miss time.
Shanahan acknowledged McCaffrey’s excellence, but understands his all-everything running back will need some assistance next season: “Christian had an unbelievable year, but he definitely needs help. I don’t want Christian to have to take all that. It’s amazing what he did. So hard to get Christian out is because how much he affects the pass game.”
If one of the fourth-round picks will be spent on a guard, perhaps another will be used on a running back. The team drafted James in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Guerendo was a fourth-rounder in the 2024 draft. The team is no stranger when it comes to using Day 3 picks on running backs, and 2026 is unlikely to be any different.
The 49ers have a brief playoff appearance to go off James ability, but other than that, it’s primarily practice film. Guerendo played plenty as a rookie, but his inability to step onto the field in Year 2 is a sign the 49ers don’t view him as a player they feel can contribute in 2026.
Shanahan continued:
“I know that I don’t want Christian to have to take all of that. It was amazing that he did and was able to do that. The reason it’s so hard to get Christian out is because of how much he affects everything in the pass game, even when he’s not getting the ball… But in order for us to be the running team we want to be, in order to have Christian be as good as he can be throughout the whole year, we’ve got to get someone to help him.”
Guerendo and James are both north of 200 pounds. Guerendo tested as you’d think a track athlete would. James’ testing numbers were more pedestrian, making it difficult to draw conclusions from both selections beyond their weight — though that isn’t all that close, either, with Guerendo weighing nearly 15 pounds more.
One player the 49ers may buy low on is Penn State’s Nick Singleton, who suffered a broken foot at the Senior Bowl. Singleton, 6′, 219 pounds, was listed on The Athletic’s annual “Freak list,” where he reportedly bench pressed 435, ran a 4.35 40, had a shuttle time of 4.18, with a max velocity of 23.5 mph.
The four-year senior has enough experience as a pass catcher. Penn State split him out as a receiver 18% of the time last season. As a freshman, Singleton ran for over 1,000 yards and averaged nearly seven yards per carry. This past season, Singleton only ran for 549 yards. Then you realize he was hit at the line on 23% of his carries and it starts to make sense.
Shanahan said the 49ers want less “wear and tear” for McCaffrey moving forward. That shouldn’t narrow the pool of running backs down to specific height/weight/speed, but an experienced player like Singleton who broke out as a freshman should intrigue a team looking to lighten the workload for McCaffrey.
