Niners Nation
The 49ers added a running back in the 2025 NFL Draft who lacks explosive traits, but offers the consistency their ground game lacked.
We all knew he would do it at some stage. Kyle Shanahan wasn’t going to go through one of the deepest running back drafts of recent memory without snagging one for himself, and he did so in the fifth round with the selection of Oregon’s Jordan James with the 147th overall pick.
Unlike last year, it wasn’t a move that required a trade up, as the 49ers vaulted back into the fourth round in 2024 to take Isaac Guerendo. And it wasn’t a bet on athleticism.
Whereas Guerendo was by far the most athletically gifted back in the 2024 class – and showed that athleticism as a rookie with a game-clinching long run in Seattle and a preseason kickoff return TD among several highlights – James posted a Relative Athletic Score of just 4.65 out of 10 for his pre-draft testing.
Picking a back without elite athletic traits in a league where the second-level defenders are getting smaller and faster might raise a few eyebrows, but the decision to select James is a move to get the 49er running game back on schedule after an underwhelming 2024 in terms of efficiency.
While Jordan Mason shone when healthy and Guerendo displayed flashes of his undoubted promise, the 49er running game took a step back efficiency-wise with Christian McCaffrey on the shelf for much of the year.
In 2023, his Offensive Player of the Year-winning season, McCaffrey was seventh among all qualifying running backs in Success Rate, gaining the required yardage on 54% of his carries, well above the league average of 47.7% for all qualifying runners.
Last season, the league average jumped to 49.6% and Patrick Taylor Jr. – who only had 39 rush attempts – was the sole 49er back above it on 53.8%.
Guerendo’s Success Rate was 47.6%, with Mason on 47.1% and McCaffrey on 44%.
To his credit, Guerendo ranked eighth in Expected Points Added per rush among backs with at least 50 attempts last season, illustrating the explosive play ability for which the 49ers brought him in.
The hope will be that a return to health for McCaffrey brings a return to the down-to-down consistency to which the 49ers had previously been accustomed. However, McCaffrey’s health is far from a guarantee and, while he will likely continue to be the bell cow, there needs to be an acceptance that it isn’t practical for the 49ers to lean on him as much as they did in 2023 and expect his body to hold up.
James is an insurance policy in that sense, joining the 49ers as a back who – despite some athletic shortcomings – can keep the running game on schedule by consistently getting the required yardage.
Indeed, James’ 57% success rate in his final year at Oregon led all running backs. On top of that, he ranked second among backs in this draft...
