49ers are in good hands with Matt Breida and Raheem Mostert
Throughout the entire NFL offseason for the San Francisco 49ers, one of the things that was garnering excitement was their trio of running backs. The addition of Tevin Coleman that reunited him with his former play-caller in Kyle Shanahan was the driving force behind the excitement. Mix him in with Jerick McKinnon who was becoming healthy and Matt Breida and we have ourselves a dangerous backfield.
Flip the page to week two of the NFL regular season and the 49ers do not have two of the aforementioned players. You would think that there would at least be some hiccups with the loss of those two. However, the 49ers are in good hands with Matt Breida and Raheem Mostert. Both of these players put on an absolute show in the 49ers 41-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals
Breida, on just 12 carries, put up 121 yards rushing that was highlighted by his stellar jump-cut third down conversion for a massive gain. His talent is just undeniable. Pretty soon people will start to throw him in among the top running backs in the league. Of course, he didn't do it all him self. Raheem Mostert looked impressive himself and heavily impacted the passing game with a receiving touchdown of his own.
This is not unfamiliar territory for these two players to be receiving the bulk of the snaps. They fared very well last season and only got better as the season progressed. As much as the 49ers would love to have Tevin Coleman back, they are honestly fine without him. Mostert's skillset is similar to Colemans, so Shanahan's play-calling doesn't skip a beat. He can easily roll Mostert out there the same way as Coleman, which is exactly what he did by implementing him in the passing game.
If this high level of play continues by both Breida and Mostert, how does Kyle Shanahan justify messing with their chemistry? I mean, once Coleman comes back he is probably going to want to get him going again. But if those two are running the rock smoothly, then Shanahan should not meddle with it. He's already taking the right measures to keep them healthy by splitting their carries.
Mostert ended up finishing the day with more runs and receptions than Breida. It just shows much Shanahan trusts in their talent. If you look at it from Mostert's perspective, all offseason the running game was hyped because of the addition of Coleman and return of McKinnon. He was just viewed as a key special teams player, but with the injury, first to McKinnon and now Coleman, it opens a huge window of opportunity for Mostert.
It's fantastic to see how strongly he is playing. The talent was always there, but the chances weren't. It's a next man up mentality in this league and when you get the call you have to show out. Raheem Mostert is doing just that alongside Matt Breida. Don't be shocked when these two start being regarded as one of the most dangerous pair of running backs in the game.
