Jordan Mason Should Surpass Elijah Mitchell on 49ers Depth Chart

The 49ers might have to play a game or two without Christian McCaffrey, who injured his oblique/rib Sunday against the Browns. If he misses time, the new starting running back should be Jordan Mason, not Elijah Mitchell.

It's time the 49ers elevate Mason on the depth chart.

Against the Rams, Mitchell was the first running back off the bench when McCaffrey got injured. But Mitchell lost 3 yards on 2 carries -- he was awful. Then Mason got a chance to play, and he gained 27 yards and scored a touchdown on 5 carries.

Mason has been better than Mitchell all year. That's because Mason has been healthy all year, while Mitchell has been injured off and on since his rookie season in 2021, and the injuries have taken their toll.

As a rookie, Mitchell started 10 games and rushed for 963 yards. But in his second season, he played in only five games. This season, he has played in three games, and he's averaging just 2.7 yards per carry. He's unplayable.

Meanwhile, Mason has appeared in all six games, and he's averaging a whopping 5.6 yards per carry. He could start for lots of teams. He's big, powerful and he runs extremely hard -- even harder than Mitchell. And Mason's body is built to run that hard. Mitchell's body is not. He's much, much smaller than Mason.

Perhaps McCaffrey wouldn't have an injured oblique/rib if the 49ers had used Mason more the first few weeks of the season and not worn down their starting running back and offensive MVP.