Why Jordan Mason's breakout game wasn't a surprise to 49ers - ESPN

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers sifted through potential late round and undrafted free agent running back options in the 2022 NFL draft when Jordan Mason's name first came up.

A survey of the room allowed the scouting staff and running backs coach Bobby Turner to identify Mason as a possible addition to an ever-increasing line of under-the-radar backs to join the Niners.

But before any of that could happen, coach Kyle Shanahan looked closer at Mason's college résumé and wondered why he wasn't starting in his final season at Georgia Tech. As it turned out, Mason was the backup to Jahmyr Gibbs, who would go on to star at Alabama and become the No. 12 pick of the Detroit Lions in the 2023 draft.

«I thought that was a pretty good reason to be a backup,» Shanahan said. «I believe [he] was a three-year starter before his senior year. He did have a hell of a college career. His style has always been like this.»

It's Mason's hard-charging approach that has transformed him from little known undrafted rookie to one of the stars of the NFL's opening week. Mason made his first NFL start against the New York Jets on Monday while Christian McCaffrey was dealing with calf tightness and Achilles tendinitis. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the 49ers are placing McCaffrey on injured reserve and he will miss at least the next four games.

Mason emerged in Week 1 not just as McCaffrey's replacement but as the focal point of an offense otherwise loaded with household names, finishing with 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown with one five-yard catch. It was the second-most rushing yards by any NFL player in Week 1 and the most rushing attempts by any 49er in a regular-season game since Shanahan took over in 2017.

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