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How the 49ers Will Replace Jordan Mason on their Roster

The bruiser the 49ers draft this year to replace Jordan Mason will be a much better receiver than he is.
Grant Cohn|
Oct 10, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) hands the ball off to running back Jordan Mason (24) during the first half against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
Oct 10, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) hands the ball off to running back Jordan Mason (24) during the first half against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers just lost a key player on their offense.

They traded Jordan Mason and a sixth-round pick to the Minnesota Vikings for a fifth-round pick this year and a sixth-round next year. Ultimately, the 49ers didn't value Mason highly. They think they can replace him.

Here's why.

Mason led the 49ers in rushing yards last season with 789. He also led all rushers with 13 broken tackles while no one else broke more than 3. He was one of the most powerful, bruising runners in the league and one of the most efficient as well -- he averaged 5.2 yards per carry each of the past two seasons.

And yet, Mason caught just 11 passes and gained a mere five first downs as a receiver last season. And that's a big reason the 49ers didn't win much when he was in the starting lineup while Christian McCaffrey was out with bilateral Achilles tendonitis.

So much of the 49ers offense is built around McCaffrey and his ability to run routes and catch passes. He's the ultimate check down receiver and he makes Brock Purdy an extremely efficient player. Without McCaffrey on the field, Purdy tends to hold the ball too long and force passes downfield.

Which means the bruiser the 49ers draft this year to replace Jordan Mason will be a much better receiver than he is. Think Kaleb Johnson of Iowa or Cam Skattebo of Arizona State.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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