The NFL announced that San Francisco 49ers running back Elijah Mitchell has been nominated for this week's FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week award. The rookie rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown on 27 attempts (4.9 avg.) in the 49ers' 34-26 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
The other nominees are Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette (100 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 17 attempts against the Colts) and Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon (165 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries against the Steelers).
In April, San Francisco made Mitchell a sixth-round draft pick out of Louisiana. He leads the team with 693 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 143 carries through eight game appearances and seven starts this season.
Mitchell was named the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week after his Week 8 performance against the Chicago Bears.
FedEx allows fans to recognize weekly top-performing quarterbacks and running backs in games played on Thursday through Sunday through the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week Awards. Voting is open until Wednesday at noon PT at NFL.com/FedEx each week of the season. Fans can also vote on Twitter via the @NFL published polls and on the NFL Mobile App.
Through the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week Awards, FedEx will make a $2,000 donation in the names of the winning quarterback and running back ($4,000 total) to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).
Each donation will be made in the name of the winning quarterback and running back, which will go towards need-based scholarships to deserving HBCU students.