Dissecting the depth chart: Running Backs (including Fullbacks)

By Paul Kadwill

2014 Depth charts:

RB:  Frank Gore, Carlos Hyde, LaMichael James, Alfonso Smith, Kendall Hunter*, Marcus Lattimore*

(*injured)

FB:  Bruce Miller

Signed through 2015:

Carlos Hyde, Kendall Hunter, Bruce Miller 

Frank Gore

16 games (16 starts), 255 attempts, 1106 yards, 4.3 yards per carry, 4 touchdowns, 2 fumbles.

(Sacremento Bee)

What can you say about Frank Gore that hasn’t been said many times before by 49ers fans?  Already a legend around the club, Gore secured yet another 1000+ yard season during 2014, the eighth of his career, and did so with a very decent yards-per-carry average.  His touchdowns were down from previous years, but this was due mainly to playcalls and offensive line issues, not Gore himself.

The 49ers all-time leading rusher only added another 111 yards of receiving to his season tally, with a single receiving touchdown.  Although noticeably reduced from his receiving hey-day when he regularly gained around 400 receiving yards per season, this years total wasn't too much of a reduction compared to the previous three seasons where he gained 114, 234 and 141 yards respectively.

As ever, Frank Gores ability to pick up blitzing defenders and pass blocking in general were also massively important factors of his play during 2014, and cannot be over-emphasised or over-valued.  There isn't a back in the league that can come anywhere close to comparing to Gore in this aspect of play.

All of this adds up to the unmistakable fact that at the age of 31, when many running backs are well and truly past their prime, Frank Gore is actually still producing very highly.  Throughout the years, as offensive schemes have come and gone, quarterbacks and offensive lines have waxed and waned, the one true constant for the 49ers has been the outstanding output of their diminutive running back.  

Frank still has gas left in the tank.

Carlos Hyde

14 games (0 starts), 83 attempts, 333 yards, 4.0 yards per carry, 4 touchdowns, 1 fumble.

(USA Today)

Following a dominant college career for the Ohio State Buckeyes, Carlos Hyde was selected with the 57th overall pick of the 2014 NFL draft, by the San Francisco 49ers.

With a season ending injury to Kendall Hunter, a career cut short for Marcus Lattimore and the self inflicted demise of LaMichael James, Hyde found himself as the primary backup to Frank Gore at the start of the season, without ever having played a regular season snap.  He adhered himself to the Faithful during the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys, when he rushed for 50 yards and a touchdown in the eye-catching win that started off the 2014 season.

Finishing the season with the same number of touchdowns as his mentor Frank Gore, the self-named ‘El Guapo’ had a successful rookie campaign for the 49ers.

With several eye-catching plays worthy of the teams highlight reel, Hyde has given himself a good chance to become the starter for the 2015 season.  However, aside from the flashes of burst and power that wowed fans and pundits alike, Hyde did have a tendency to shy away from the north-south type of rush plays that is required of a starter, and instead opted to bounce his rushing to the outside of the offensive line on many occasions.  This is often seen with smaller running backs in the league who naturally tend to shy away from the carnage of the trenches, but Hyde is not a small back!  He will need to take further coaching from Tom Rathman in order to become less hesitant and less reliant on off-tackle runs, as well as improving his receiving and pass-blocking abilities, all of which are done to elite levels by Frank Gore.  That being said, it appears only a matter of time before Carlos Hyde becomes the starting running back for the 49ers.

LaMichael James

1 game (0 starts), 2 attempts, 0 yards, 0.0 yards per carry, 0 touchdowns, 0 fumbles.

After openly expressing his displeasure at having such a small role on the team, James was able to force the 49ers to release him on September 8th 2014, after just one game for the team in 2014.  After three weeks of inaction, James was signed to the Miami Dolphins practice squad, later being promoted to the full roster in November, appearing in two games and rushing for nine yards in total.

I doubt that James will ever reach his full potential in the NFL and will more than likely fade into the background without ever having made an impact.  This is a huge shame for an electric player who wowed the footballing nation whilst at college.

Alfonso Smith

6 games (0 starts), 7 attempts, 19 yards, 2.7 yards per carry, 0 touchdowns, 0 fumbles.

After signing with the 49ers during the preseason, Alfonso Smith was amongst the final cuts during August as the team trimmed down to their final 53-man roster.  With the losses of LaMichael James and then the retirement of Marcus Lattimore, San Francisco found themselves down to two healthy running backs and so in November, Smith was resigned to take up the third position of the depth chart as well as to bolster the Special Teams unit.

He suited up for six games and saw action primarily on Special Teams, aside from a scant few rushing attempts for the 49ers Offense.

Kendall Hunter

0 games.

2014 was supposed to be the year of Kendall Hunter.  After proving himself to be an excellent backup to Frank Gore in his first three seasons, whereby he averaged 4.6 yards per carry (9th best of all running backs with 200+ carries since 2011), it was hoped that Kendall would slowly see more time on the field as the transition from Frank Gore to his replacement occurred.  This plan was cut short in an horrific way before the season had ever begun, when Hunter tore his ACL during training camp.

After being placed on IR, the future for Kendall Hunter was looking bleak.  

Following other adversities within the running back depth chart however, the 49ers decided to sign Hunter to a contract extension which will bring the former Oklahoma State Cowboy back into training camp for the 2015 season.  He figures to be well placed in becoming the second or third-string running back going forward.

Marcus Lattimore

0 games.

A heartbreaking story for many throughout football, Lattimore failed in his attempt to come back from tearing the ACL, MCL and PCL ligaments in his right knee and dislocating his kneecap, which occurred during a college game in 2012.  

Arguably one of the most electrifying players in college football history, Lattimore was chosen by the 49ers during the 2013 NFL draft, in the hopes that his rehabilitation would be successful and he could go on to use his unmistakable talents in the league.  It proved to be too much to come back from however, and after sitting out the 2013 season and part of 2014, Lattimore took the decision to retire on November 8th 2014, without ever having played a competitive snap in the NFL.

Bruce Miller

16 games (8 starts), 6 attempts, 9 yards, 1.5 yards per carry, 0 touchdowns, 1 fumble.

An intriguing 7th round selection during the 2011 draft, Bruce Miller switched positions from defensive end to fullback and has never looked back since day one.  He continues to provide astounding lead blocking duties for Frank Gore and the rest of the 49er running backs, but his value doesn’t just stop with the traditional fullback role.  Miller has become a very useful receiving target for Colin Kaepernick and is often seen barreling his way through defenders for extra yardage.  2014 saw his yards-per-catch total rise to 10.5YPC for the season, up noticeably from 2013 (9.7YPC), whilst he also scored two receiving touchdowns during the most recent season, his first since his 2011 rookie campaign.

The one area of his game that he does need to work on, is the running game.  Granted, he is only ever really called upon in short yardage or goal line situations, nevertheless Miller must learn to use his strength more effectively and to seek out the gaps in the line of scrimmage with which to penetrate.  Coming from an entirely defensive background in college, it is perhaps not at all surprising that he is weakest in this area of the game.  Still, it would be extremely valuable for the team to be able to rely upon their fullback to pick up the tough yards on 3rd and short and goal line situations, similar to the way Green Bay can call upon John Kuhn to fulfill such requirements.

Looking ahead

In terms of the fullback position, one would assume that Bruce Miller will once again be the starter.  However, the 49ers picked arguably the best fullback in the 2014 draft, Trey Millard, who spent the year on the the injury list.  He will be back for training camp and looking to make an impact with the hopes of breaking into the roster, probably on Special Teams, before making a push to become the starter in future years.  Both Miller and Millard are signed until 2018.

The running back position is one of the sections of the 49ers depth chart that has the most question marks surrounding it.  For a position that has had the luxury of having Frank Gore occupy it for so many years, the team are now at a crossroads with regards to his future with them.  It is one of the most commonly accepted facts of life in the NFL that running backs wear out, and often with dramatic speed.  An elite player one year may be just a shell of his former self the next.  Many teams automatically assume that a running back will need replacing by the age of thirty.  Frank Gore is thirty-one.

What stands Gore out from the crowd however, is his consistency.  We have seen no fall from grace yet from the player, in fact he has maintained a consistently high performance level throughout his career, and although he may have begun to lose that burst of speed (not that he ever really had breakaway speed to begin with), he more than makes up for it with intelligence, patience behind blockers, evasion and other facets of his game.  One of those extras is his ability to pass block.  I cannot think of a single running back in history that has been as effective, or a willing to throw his entire self into a block, as Gore does during every game.

Perhaps the most influential factor in the decision of whether to bring Gore back or not, is Carlos Hyde.  Do the front office feel comfortable with handing the reins over to a player who has only been in the league for a solitary year?  It is obvious that Hyde is the 49er back for the future, but is the future now? 

If the choice was down to me, I would bring Frank Gore back for another season at least, and gradually work Carlos Hyde into the game more often as each week passes.  I honestly believe that Hyde will become a far better running back if he can learn from the best, Frank Gore, for at least one more season. However, considering the team are in rebuilding mode (even if they won’t admit it), they may decide that Hyde is better off learning through experience whilst at the same time saving the extra money that Gore would have taken up.  

The financial factor is definitely going to play a part in this offseason, even if not in this particular case, because the team are under more pressure from the salary cap than they have been for several years.  They will need to free up enough space for draft signings and any others they may want to make, and the only way to do this is if they release, trade or restructure the contracts of existing players.  Some big ticket players will be on their way out, most of whom will not be a surprise (Brooks), but one or two will be.

I believe that these economic strains will have the biggest impact upon the decision to keep Gore or not, even if the fanbase are in favour of keeping Frank at the club for his entire career.  Money talks.

One advantage that we do have in this scenario though: Frank Gore is a career 49er and I am confident that at this stage in his career, he is not motivated by money. Therefore, he may be willing to give the 49ers a home team discount, thus improving his chances of a return.

So, if Gore stays, then the depth chart is pretty much set:  Gore, Hyde, Hunter.  Arguably the strongest 1-2-3 the team has had at running back for many years.

If Gore is allowed to sign elsewhere, then things change quite massively.  Hyde would of course become the starter, then presumably Hunter would be his backup, but after that it is anybodys guess.  A veteran on league-minimum as the third back, or a rookie from the draft?  Only time will tell.

It is believed that Jim Tomsula wants to focus more on the running game for the upcoming season, so it would be fairly logical to predict that he will be looking to bolster the depleted running back position in some way.  We just don’t know how.

For a team that only twelve months ago had a seemingly overflowing cup at this position, it is humbling to see just how quickly a position can change.  One thing is for sure though:  Things will definitely be changing one way or another within the running back roster before the first snap of 2015.

Photograph references:

Sacremento Bee, 'Frank Gore', viewed online 29 January 2015, <http://www.sacbee.com/sports/nfl/san-francisco-49ers/cbfaco/picture5111178/ALTERNATES/FREE_960/1229FRANKGORE%20(2).JPG >

USA Today, 'Carlos Hye', viewed online 29 January 2015, <https://usatfantasy.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/carlos-hyde-san-francisco-49ers_20141123-e1417795750823.jpg?w=1000 >