Elijah Mitchell's imminent return a huge boost to 49ers backfield

The 49ers' run game will primarily revolve around Christian McCaffrey, but San Francisco needs depth in the backfield, and is due to get some back. Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed on Wednesday that Elijah Mitchell is close to returning to practice. Mitchell, the 49ers' leading rusher in 2021, has been sidelined with an adductor […]

Nicholas McGee

Aug 17, 2023 6:35 AM EDT

Jan 8, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Elijah Mitchell (25) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals during the second quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

The 49ers' run game will primarily revolve around Christian McCaffrey, but San Francisco needs depth in the backfield, and is due to get some back.

Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed on Wednesday that Elijah Mitchell is close to returning to practice.

Mitchell, the 49ers' leading rusher in 2021, has been sidelined with an adductor injury.

He missed much of last season because of a knee injury suffered in Week 1, appearing only five regular-season games. After his return he predominantly played second fiddle to McCaffrey, acquired in a mid-season trade with the Panthers.

McCaffrey, because of his abilities as both a runner and a receiver, has arguably become the focal point of the San Francisco offense.

But given his own history of durability issues, the 49ers need to be able to take the load off McCaffrey and Mitchell's presence gives San Francisco the opportunity to potentially have the best one-two punch at the position in the NFL given the efficiency the latter displayed in limited action last year.

It was over a small sample size of 45 rush attempts, but Mitchell led all running backs with at least 25 carries in Expected Points Added (EPA) per attempt and positive play rate. Sixty percent of Mitchell's carries produced positive EPA, according to Sports Info Solutions.

The 49ers have intriguing options behind Mitchell in Jordan Mason and Tyrion Davis-Price. However, though the latter looked much more explosive in the preseason opener than he did at any point last season, they each managed just 3.4 yards and 3.2 yards per carry respectively against the Raiders.

Their struggles come with the caveat that they were running behind second and third-stringers on the offensive line, but they helped illustrate Mitchell's value to the 49ers as the best complement to McCaffrey.

Neither Mitchell nor the 49ers will have been happy to have him head into the season off another injury, but San Francisco will be delighted to have him available in time for the regular season. His underrated importance to the offense probably makes it unlikely the Niners will risk a recurrence of his adductor problem by playing him in preseason.