NFL Network analyst Adam Rank knows where he stands with the Niner Faithful and happily owns it. He probably shouldn't, however, go on air and request that San Francisco 49ers running back Jeff Wilson Jr. stops doing his job.
It's probably important to note that Rank is a fantasy football analyst, and his request comes on behalf of his fantasy teams. Rank joined Mark Willard on KNBR Wednesday night and was answering a fan's question about which running backs to play on his fantasy team when Wilson's name popped into the response.
The question, by the way, involved 49ers running back Matt Breida.
"I do like Matt Breida, as well," Rank told the fan, who started the conversation by bashing the analysts 3-13 49ers record prediction. "I think that Matt B. and Raheem (Mostert), I think that two-headed monster is going to be — as long as like — stop giving it to Jeff Wilson.
"Like, okay, you've proven your point, Kyle Shanahan. You want to carry on the family tradition of Shanahanighans (I really hope I spelled that correctly)."
Willard warned Rank that Wilson was coming on the show the next night.
"Listen, I'm proud of him for making it to the NFL," Rank jokingly continued. "Stop ruining my fantasy teams, that's all. Like, I don't think it's that rude. You're getting paid regardless. Why do you need to take all these touchdowns? I don't think that's a terrible thing to ask."
Willard told Rank that he planned to play that portion of the conversation for Wilson and let the running back respond.
"Hold on, let him know that I think he's a nice person," Rank added.
So, some background before we continue. Breida rushed for 121 yards on 12 carries this past weekend against the Cincinnati Bengals. I'll wait while you do the math.
Correct, that is 10.1 yards per carry.
Mostert added 83 rushing yards for a very respectable 6.4 yards per carry. Neither got into the end zone, though.
Wilson, however, rushed for 34 yards and got into the end zone twice, upsetting any fantasy team owners who may have had Breida or Mostert on their roster. That may have included Rank.
Wilson admitted that he doesn't pay too much attention to fantasy sports, but he's heard of Rank. Willard kept his promise and played the analyst's comments from the night before. How did the 49ers running back respond?
"Just stay tuned," Wilson said. "That's all I can say. Just stay tuned, you know?"
Willard asked if Wilson is the 49ers' red-zone guy now.
"That I don't know," Wilson answered. "Like I said, I'll just sit back and whenever there's a time where my number's call, I'll go in. I don't know any kind of parts or increments I have in the game plan. I just stay ready."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Wilson below.