Christian McCaffrey made an impact in a short amount of time with the 49ers last season, so there's no telling what he'll accomplish in a full season with the team in 2023.
The 27-year-old leads a running backs room with a lot of young talent, and while McCaffrey is expected to be on the field for a majority of snaps, Elijah Mitchell, Jordan Mason and Ty Davis-Price all have an equal opportunity to also make an impact.
"We have more than capable backs," 49ers assistant head coach/running backs coach Anthony Lynn said Wednesday. "Christian with his versatility, things he can do, handing the ball off and creating matchups in the passing game, he's the best at the for sure. But our other three guys have grown in that area.
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"When Christian's not in the game, you still can do some of those things. And that was intentional. And they work their butts off to get there."
Mason and Davis-Price both are entering their sophomore seasons in the league. In their respective rookie years, each running back showed glimpses of their potential.
And while there's a lot to learn and improve upon, Lynn already has noticed a significant difference in their second training camp.
"I'll tell you what, they're getting close," Lynn said. "They're working their tails off, they're studying, they are practicing with more confidence, they are executing better. It's just the little details that we're really pleased with in their sophomore year. Having them enter our offseason watching them now, I think you can see the difference."
San Francisco 49ers
For Mitchell, who's approaching Year 3 with San Francisco, he's already proven what he's capable of on the field. He just needs to stay healthy. The 25-year-old played just five games last season and 16 total in his pro career.
Still, Lynn has no doubt in his mind that a healthy Mitchell can make an impact this season.
"Elijah's a pro," Lynn said. "And we expect the same thing from Elijah that we saw from the last year. When we put him in the games, I remember he ran hard. I think he's one of the better runners in the National Football League when he's healthy. So to have him and Christian in that tandem role, that's pretty nice."
Of course, if it were up to him, McCaffrey would like to play all snaps every game.
Ideally, so would running backs coach Bobby Turner. But he, too, has high expectations for the rest of the room.
"Would I like to have Christian McCaffrey out there 72 snaps? Yes. But that's not realistic," he said. "So we're counting on all of the running backs to contribute.
"I look at all those guys, they're pushing each other. Whether Elijah isn't starting, I still look at him as a starter. How we rotate or how we work those guys, that's on the head coach and the coordinators, but starting with Kyle. ... I'm excepting big things out of Elijah. So when he's in there, or whoever's in there, Ty, Mase, whoever's in there, I'm expecting the same production."