Christian McCaffrey Assesses the 49ers' Rookie Running Backs

Christian McCaffrey gave a light assessment of what he has seen so far from the 49ers' rookie running backs.

Jun 11, 2025; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey speaks to the media following a team OTA at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

The running back position got shaken up this offseason for the San Francisco 49ers.

Christian McCaffrey and Isaac Guerendo are the only notable returning players in 2025. The rest of the depth chart is rounded out by rookie Jordan James and undrafted free agent Corey Kiner.

Following Day 2 of minicamp, McCaffrey was asked about how Kiner has looked in OTAs and minicamp, but ended up including James in the assessment with Kiner to generalize it.

"Both of our rookie running backs have been awesome," said McCaffrey. "They show up every day, they work hard, they listen, they're attentive, they practice hard. They're everything you would want in a rookie running back, so both of those guys have done an awesome job, and it's been fun to get to know them and work with them."

Very insightful, right? It's safe to say, given McCaffrey's answer, he doesn't have an idea how James and Kiner are performing. He has a bit of semblance, but isn't at a point where he can fully assess yet.

Part of that could be because he is focused on himself. There is nothing wrong with that. McCaffrey is a ballhog. He wants to be an every-down player like he's been.

Plus, he wants to keep testing himself in practice to see how he feels. McCaffrey has missed so much time in the last year that it's valid for him to have tunnel vision on himself.

The other aspect to consider is that McCaffrey has only had over a month to be around these guys. Outside of positional meetings, he isn't getting a ton of interaction.

However, you would think that he would've mentioned that either James or Kiner is picking his brain since he has a wealth of information.

I don't think it is farfetched to say McCaffrey isn't the most helpful teammate in the running back room. For now, it needs to be chalked up as him not having much time with them yet.