The idea that less could be more with San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey is not a knock on the player, who finished as a finalist in the MVP balloting in two of the previous three seasons.
It’s more about the history of players with as many touches as McCaffrey had last season, and how they perform the following year. Essentially, there’s an outlier season from Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson. Outside of him, the production drops to unthinkable levels.
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Why Romeo Doubs is a perfect fit
An affordable WR2 who can win in isolated situations
It is not a deep draft at running back. In fact, the pool is shallow. Meaning, if the 49ers want to add somebody who they feel might need to contribute in 2026, they might need to sign a veteran.
Breece Hall reuniting with his college teammate Brock Purdy would make for a fun story, but you have to imagine the market is going to give the 25-year-old speedster whatever he wants. The same is likely true for Kenneth Walker. Former first-rounder Travis Etienne has the speed to help the offense, but he leaves a lot on the bone as a runner. Tyler Allgeier would be an excellent complement and fit, but he’s probably tired of splitting time after having to do so with Bijan Robinson the previous four seasons.
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Enter, Kenneth Gainwell. The 27-year-old is off a season where he played 50 percent of the time, so a timeshare is natural. The best selling point might be before we get to what Gainwell brings to the table on the field. His market projection is only $3 million. That would be a steal for a player the 49ers would use often.
Gainwell does not have a lot of tread on his tires. Last season was the most carries he ever had in a season, and it was only 114. He finished seventh in the NFL in rushing success rate and was consistent, no matter if he was running inside or outside of the tackles. Gainwell averaged 4.6 yards per carry on rushes inside the tackle and 4.8 outside of the tackle. He also averaged 3.6 yards after contact on inside rushes compared to 3.5 on outside rushes.
Sixteen of his carries went for at least 10 yards. Watching a reel of those carries, and it doesn’t take long to realize Gainwell’s a speedy player. And it’s not like these big plays came against poor defenses. He did it against the Seahawks, Packers, Vikings, Dolphins, and Browns–all above-average run defenses down the stretch.
Gainwell’s average speed of 11.08 miles per hour at the line of scrimmage was the fastest among all running backs with at least 100 carries. Gainwell surpassed 15 miles per hour on 24.8 percent of his carries, which was also the third highest. Plus, the explosive run rate was the 4th-highest in the NFL. That was on the Steelers. With more room to operate under Kyle Shanahan, one would think Gainwell could fare even better with better players around him.
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Gainwell’s work in the passing game is why the 49ers should offer him a contract. He saw a whopping 27.2 percent of the targets in Pittsburgh last season. Gainwell lined up all over. He lined up in the slot 61 times, as an inline player 71 times, and out wide another 32 times. Gainwell ran 113 routes from non-backfield alignments, which was the second-most in the NFL. His 217 receiving yards on targets from those alignments were only behind McCaffrey and Bijan Robinson.
Twenty-three of his receptions went for first downs, while forcing 13 missed tackles along the way. Gainwell only had three drops despite the heavy workload in the passing game.
Another area where Gainwell could contribute is on special teams. Gainwell was the Steelers’ kickoff returner last season. If the 49ers don’t want to bring Skyy Moore back, Gainwell could be their RB2 and top returner.
It’s not splashy. It has the opportunity to be flashy. But adding Gainwell would give the offense some much-needed juice and has shown the ability to contribute in the league.
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