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NFL.com Ranks 49ers RB Jordan Mason 23rd Among NFL Running Backs

Jordan Mason emerged as one of the 49ers' most dangerous weapons this season.
Grant Cohn|
Oct 6, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason (24) before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Oct 6, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason (24) before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

Jordan Mason emerged as one of the 49ers' most dangerous weapons this season.

While Deebo Samuel struggled to break tackles, Mason did not. He broke one once every 11.8 times he carried the ball -- tied for 15th-best in the NFL. He's one of the most powerful runners in the NFL and he's only 25 years old. His best days are ahead of him.

Former NFL running back Maurice Jones-Drew has taken notice. He recently ranked Mason 23rd among players at his position for the 2024 season. Christian McCaffrey did not make the list because he missed most of the season due to various injuries.

"Entering the season (and ending it) without Christian McCaffrey was a tough pill to swallow for 49ers fans," writes Jones-Drew. "That bad feeling was briefly alleviated when Mason dominated opponents over the first month with three 100-yard rushing performances. Unfortunately, he (like most of the Niners stars) dealt with injuries that ultimately limited his play over the second half of the season. San Francisco should feel good about pairing him with a healthy McCaffrey next season."

Considering Mason is firmly within the top 32 running backs in the NFL, another team could look at him as a starter and try to sign him this offseason. He would be an instant upgrade for the Washington Commanders, whose general manager, Adam Peters, was in the 49ers' front office when they signed Mason as an undrafted free agent. He might value Mason more than the 49ers do.

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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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