The San Francisco 49ers have a decision to make at their backup running back spot in 2026. Brian Robinson Jr. left for the Atlanta Falcons, which leaves a role up for grabs behind Christian McCaffrey this season.
This job has been a revolving door of players of the past few seasons, but head coach Kyle Shanahan seemed to indicate his preference for the team’s RB2: Jordan James. The 2025 fifth-round pick out of Oregon only played 17 offensive snaps in 2025 and didn’t record a touch until the postseason blowout loss to the Seahawks (where he rushed six times for 28 yards), but Shanahan praised James for his development in the second-half of the season and noted that he could overtake some players on the depth chart this year.
“Jordan James came on really strong at the end of last year, but he missed so much at the beginning, he kind of just missed his window to pass some other people up,” Shanahan told reporters at the NFL owners’ meeting Monday. “I wish would have gotten him on the field more than I did. He needs to take the next step.”
Shanahan didn’t really tout any other running backs besides McCaffrey and James. He noted that Isaac Guerendo is a good piece, especially in the passing game, but added that Guerendo “just wasn’t our second-best runner last year.”
All these signs point to James having the inside track to overtake Guerendo and fellow backup Patrick Taylor in the running back rotation behind McCaffrey. Shanahan even added that he wants to lighten McCaffrey’s load a little bit after the veteran led the NFL with 413 offensive touches in 2025, which eclipsed McCaffrey’s career-high of 403 touches from 2019.
James will need to have a good training camp and preseason to officially earn the role, but he appears to already have the endorsement of Shanahan. However, as Shanahan noted, James suffered a broken finger during training camp and needed surgery. That missed time didn’t help his early development.
Now, at least, James should have a full offseason to grow in the system. James was a prolific college runner at Oregon after rushing 233 times for 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2024.
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Kyle Shanahan hints at who will be Christian McCaffrey’s backup
Reporting by Oliver G., Niners Wire / Niners Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
