The 49ers are optimistic about what the future holds for Christian McCaffrey.
But it is clear they felt the need to add more insurance behind the NFL’s 2023 Offensive Player of the Year.
The 49ers selected Jordan James of Oregon in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft with Pick No. 147.
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James is the fifth running back the 49ers have chosen in the nine years of the John Lynch-Kyle Shanahan regime.
James comes with a high recommendation from former 49ers running back Frank Gore, the No. 3 rusher in NFL history.
"If a future HoF RB likes you, seems good enough for me," 49ers CEO Jed York wrote on social media to foreshadow the selection of James.
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James (5-foot-9 1/2, 208 pounds) is coming off a season in which he gained 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns. His college career ended on a down note when he sustained a concussion in the first quarter of the Ducks’ playoff loss to Ohio State.
The first three running backs the 49ers selected in the third round during the Lynch-Shanahan regime. Joe Williams, Trey Sermon and Ty Davis-Price did not work out.
The other running back the 49ers drafted is Isaac Guerendo. He was a fourth-round selection last year, and he is currently the backup to McCaffrey. Guerendo’s presence made it possible for the 49ers to trade Jordan Mason to the Minnesota Vikings this offseason.
Guerendo and James will likely compete for the role as McCaffrey’s backup.
The key to the 49ers’ offense returning to its Super Bowl form is tied to McCaffrey’s return. He missed all of training camp and the first eight games of the season due to Achilles tendinitis in both legs. Then, his season came to an end on a snowy night in Buffalo when he landed hard on his right knee and sustained an injury to his posterior cruciate ligament.
McCaffrey said last week that he has no physical restrictions.
“I’m feeling great,” McCaffrey said. “It’s been such a smooth process, a lot of hard work. As soon as that injury happened in Buffalo, it was my goal to not miss a day of OTAs and be back and ready to go with nothing hindering me and that’s where I’m at.”
Still, the 49ers need depth. History has shown how much the organization needs to have the backup and the backup’s backup ready to go.
The 49ers had seven different leading rushers in Shanahan’s eight seasons as head coach.
James joins a group of 49ers running backs of McCaffrey, Guerendo, Patrick Taylor Jr. and Israel Abanikanda, a fifth-round pick of the New York Jets in 2023.