The San Francisco 49ers took down the New Orleans Saints on Sunday even though their rushing attack was somewhat limited. That rushing attack has only featured two players, as 2024 breakout rookie Isaac Guerendo has been iced out of the backfield.
Guerendo had a very solid rookie campaign in 2024. With how decimated San Francisco's backfield was by injury, Guerendo had to step up and even start some games coming down the stretch.
In 16 games and three starts last season, the Indiana native rushed for 420 yards on 84 attempts, which was good for 5yards per carry along with four rushing touchdowns. He also had 15 receptions for 152 yards.
He looked like a very solid addition to the offense, and after Jordan Mason was traded away in the offseason, it seemed like the Niners were comfortable with him being All-Pro Christian McCaffrey's backup going into 2025.
However, Guerendo was banged up in training camp and the Niners had tons of running back injuries. This prompted them to trade for Brian Robinson Jr. from the Washington Commanders, which spelled immediate trouble for Guerendo.
Things were made even worse when general manager John Lynch seemed to imply that rookie Jordan James was ahead of Guerendo on the depth chart before he got injured, which means that the 49ers were down on Guerendo even before they acquired Robinson.
As things currently stand, McCaffrey and Robinson are clearly the top two backs on the depth chart. McCaffrey had yet another solid performance on Sunday as he was effective both running the ball and catching it as a receiver.
McCaffrey ran the ball 13 times and Robinson ran it six times as New Orleans did a fairly good job by limiting the duo to just 75 yards on the ground. Guerendo did not factor into the rushing attack at all, nor did he get any carries in Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks, so it's clear he has been relegated to special teams duties for the time being.
Maybe this will change over the course of the year, but if James gets healthy, the 49ers may try to work him in a little bit more rather than Guerendo.
It has been a precipitous fall for the second-year running back, but we know that he is just an injury or two away from getting his chance yet again.
If he does get that opportunity, he is going to have to take full advantage of it to earn his way back into the good graces of head coach Kyle Shanahan.