Jerick McKinnon was supposed to finally let head coach Kyle Shanahan do exactly what he wanted to do offensively. Experts viewed him as a perfect weapon for the San Francisco 49ers — a player who blurs the line between a running back and a wide receiver. Seeing McKinnon in the backfield revealed nothing about what kind of play was coming a defense's way. It could be a run or a pass, and defenses had to be ready for both.
McKinnon won't take the field for the 49ers this season. He suffered a torn ACL during practice on Saturday and landed on injured reserve on Monday. That changes things for the 49ers.
If anyone can game plan around the absence of a key offensive weapon, it's Shanahan. He is considered to be one of the best offensive minds in the game. The majority of the workload will now fall on backup Matt Breida and newcomer Alfred Morris.
49ers radio analyst Tim Ryan jumped on KNBR and shared that with McKinnon out, he feels one of those two running backs is in for a big season.
"Breida is going to have to pick up that torch," Ryan said on the "Murph & Mac" show. "He's going to have to certainly ignite his play opportunities and make something out of them.
"But something tells me Alfred Morris is in store for a nice year, fellas. Just the way that it happened, how it happened, him being on the street, him having a significant history with Kyle.
"I talked to the running back coach last week at practice, and I'm like, 'Wow, man.' After that Indianapolis game, I said, 'a little different timing with a little bit slower back letting those blocks develop up front.'
"I choose to be an optimist, and I think Alfred's going to end up having a huge year running the football for the 49ers."
Ryan acknowledges that Morris will not strike fear in defenders like McKinnon would have. Shanahan, however, does have other options.
"He's going to be able to catch the passes," Ryan said, "but he's not going to run at a linebacker or safety, and they're going to go, 'Oh no, here he comes. How am I going to cover this guy?' So he's not going to be as tough as a cover. I think that's going to be more of Breida catching passes. (Kyle) Juszczyk can also get out there in a one-back set and catch passes."
You can listen to the entire interview with Ryan below.
In Morris' most significant preseason action with San Francisco, the running back rushed for 84 yards on 17 carries against the Colts in a little over a half of play. He had five runs of nine-or-more yards.
"I know I've got plenty of mileage left."
Veteran @FredoSauce was feeling good following his #49ers debut. pic.twitter.com/xWFHMgMyiD
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) August 26, 2018
"I was really pleased with how Alfred ran the ball (against the Colts)," Shanahan said on August 26. "He was running the ball really good in practice, and our O-line was blocking well in practice. I was very excited how it carried over to the game."
Shanahan and Morris already have a history of success together. Morris rushed for 2,888 yards in his first two NFL seasons (2012-13) with Shanahan as his offensive coordinator in Washington.
"Alf can do all of it," Shanahan explained. "Alf always gets a little bit more than you block him for. I like that in all our runners, but I do think he brings a bit different of a dimension to it."