Christian McCaffrey set a new single-season high for touches in 2025, racking up 450 between the regular season and playoffs, and now the guy is 30 years old. Kyle Shanahan always talks about managing his star running back’s workload, only to feed him the ball relentlessly and shrug. Maybe this year, finally, something will change. The youngsters, Kaelon Black and Jordan James, have given Shanahan some real reason this preseason to actually follow through.
Kaelon Black Is Making Everyone Forget Those “Reach” Comments
Kaelon Black has been the talk of training camp, man, and he’s largely running away with the RB2 role. Consensus boards had him as a reach in April’s draft, but this explosive third-round pick out of Indiana is proving everyone wrong. In the preseason finale against the Raiders, he logged a cool 28 yards on seven yards per carry. That’s just more of the same from Black, and it’s making a strong case for him to be the primary backup.
Jordan James Fought Back From Injury, But The Competition Is Brutal
Jordan James, a 2025 fifth-rounder, had a tougher road. He’d been sidelined since before the padded portion of camp, thanks to a collision with Fred Warner that fractured his ribs. After his return to practice over the weekend, James found himself behind in what was supposed to be an interesting position battle. Thursday night was his only chance to put something on tape before the season opener in Australia, and he looked good for the most part. James finished with 35 yards in eight carries, including a sweet 17-yard burst up the gut with good contact balance. He also snagged a 20-yard screen pass, turning it into much more with a smart cutback and a clutch perimeter block by rookie left guard hopeful Carver Willis. His momentary lapses: running sideways instead of vertical on a third-and-1 carry that lost a yard, and getting flagged for an illegal block that wiped out a touchdown pass. Ouch.
The 49ers Still Haven’t Solved Their Christian McCaffrey Problem
Offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak says there will be a defined depth chart, not an in-season rotation right off the bat, but those guys will “keep competing.” An educated guess puts McCaffrey followed by Black and then James to start the season. The Niners have had a revolving door of backups behind McCaffrey for years. Elijah Mitchell trailed him in 2023, Jordan Mason emerged in 2024 when McCaffrey missed four games due to injury before signing elsewhere in free agency, and Brian Robinson Jr. was acquired in a trade during 2025 training camp but didn’t put any dent in McCaffrey’s mileage. With Black and James showing flashes, having options is a good thing, but whether they actually use a three-back rotation is the real question worth monitoring as the season kicks off. They’ve got to decide something soon, because Christian McCaffrey can’t do it all forever.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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