The Angry Runner
The 49ers need to unleash more thunder to their lightning.
We’re used to seeing Christian McCaffrey and his smooth, twitchy, quick style on Sundays. The San Francisco 49ers under Kyle Shanahan are well-known as an outside oriented, calculated, finesse team when it comes to running the football. Given Shanahan’s success during his time in the Bay, it’s hard to argue against. Rotating Brian Robinson Jr. into the run game could make Shanahan’s 2025 run game more physical and aggressive than past iterations.
For the Week 9 victory over the New York Giants, something was different. The running game featured a more literal interpretation of “ground-and-pound” offense. An underused change-of-pace back took the few touches he was given as an opportunity to go out and hit the Giants in the mouth. The obligatory “lightning and thunder” cliche is tired but appropriate here. Robinson Jr. showed the NFL that the San Francisco 49ers are still a team that is capable of going straight through opposing defenses, not just around them.
When the 49ers acquired Robinson Jr. in the offseason, many saw the vision of Robinson and a complimentary back to CMC. We knew he was a hard, downhill runner who got a ton of yards after contact and always fell forward. During his time in Washington he started 37 out of 41 games, putting up over 2,300 yards and 15 TDs while averaging 4.1 yards per carry. He was considered a potential bellcow among many in D.C. for a short time.
Week 9 at New York was a perfect example of the kind of thump a player like Robinson Jr. can bring to an offense. He finished the game with five carries for 53 yards and one touchdown, averaging a ridiculous 10.6 yards per carry in a win that wasn’t as close as the scoreboard would lead you to believe. Here’s Robinson Jr. running through cornerback Deonte Danks on the way to the endzone to demonstrate my point.
His contributions aren’t just limited to the offensive side of the ball, though. He brings the juice on a much maligned, but improving, special teams unit. Robinson Jr. had an electric 41-yard kickoff return to give the Niners fantastic field position and a much-needed shot in the arm about half way through the 4th quarter.
As the season has gone on, many question why Robinson Jr. doesn’t get more touches. He averages a very respectable 4.8 yards per carry on the year. Be it correlation or causation, the 49ers have won every game where he has at least five carries. With his punishing style it’s hard to figure out why he isn’t getting seven or eight carries a game. Giving a few extra touches to Robinson Jr. per game would save some of the wear and tear off McCaffrey’s legs and body.
McCaffrey is currently on pace for 1,200 rushing yards, 10 rushing TDs, 70 catches, and 700 receiving yards. That’s so much usage for a guy the 49ers are going to have to depend on in January if they make the postseason. His insane workload paid off in 2023, but cost him his 2024 season. We all, Shanahan included, want to see CMC beyond this year.
I’m not saying Shanahan should abandon his core philosophy and the success that comes from it. Christian McCaffrey is the best running back in football and deserves tons of chances to prove it every week. All I’m saying is that there is a place in the rotation for a guy who forces defenders to decide how bad they want to come up and stop the run. If anything, using Robinson Jr. early in games like the hammer he is would be a great way to wear defenses down and tire them out, making CMC look even more dynamic.
Defenses can plan to stop CMC and contain the outside run all they want to, but putting in Brian Robinson Jr. signals that sometimes the 49ers are willing to take the straightest path to the endzone, line up, and see if opposing defenses are as tough as they claim to be.