Name a better duo than San Francisco 49ers leading rushers and getting hurt the next year. Elijah Mitchell joined the list on Sunday after spraining his MCL against the Chicago Bears. He’ll likely be out for two months.
Blame Mitchell’s injury history, or the swamp grounds that was Soldier Field, or destiny itself. Regardless of the reason, San Francisco and their bettors have games left to play and wagers left to bet. How should we react?
Who’s to gain from Mitchell’s absence?
Despite the committee approach to the backfield (or so we thought), there seem to be three possible “beneficiaries” to Mitchell’s misfortune. Sure, Tyrion Davis-Prince or Jordan Mason could see an uptick in snaps, but neither saw a touch in the loss.
Jeff Wilson Jr. projects to be the main back for the coming weeks. He looked like the third down back, though he only saw two targets in Week 1. His nine carries should be enough to signify head coach Kyle Shanahan’s trust. Expect Wilson to be an adequate handcuff for fantasy purposes.
Moreover, we should keep faith in Trey Lance as a rusher, even if the passing offense sputters to start the year. Lance was curtailed by the environment on Sunday, but was able to weaponize his size and speed on the ground. It’s hard to imagine Shanahan relying less on Lance’s legs now that his starting running back is out. They can attack defenses in a multitude of ways, from zone reads to draws. DraftKings is offering -120 odds on Lance surpassing 5.5 rushing touchdowns, which feels even safer with one less threat to his carries.
Finally, wide receiver turned part-time running back Deebo Samuel likely has the most to gain. It’s clear the 49ers are used to handing Samuel the rock and now they have another excuse to give their best playmaker touches. Without major movement across the books, I’m comfortable taking the over and virtually any Samuel rush yards prop.
Losing Mitchell stinks, but running backs have minimal impact on the final score. Don’t let his extended absence change your tune on San Francisco’s performance going forward.