The San Francisco 49ers’ decision to not run Matt Breida and Joe Williams in the second preseason game — for the most part — is a confusing one. Some have taken it to mean that Breida and Williams have already locked up roster spots and the 49ers needed to sot things between guys like Tim Hightower, Kapri Bibbs and Raheem Mostert.
That’s a fair guess, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the case. But given the hype for Breida and given Williams’ enormous upside potential, I do find it a little strange that the 49ers aren’t giving them more time to potentially take snaps away from starter Carlos Hyde.
Hyde himself has taken plenty of carries through two preseason games. He looked decent one time, and bad the other time (the run blocking certainly did him no favors). Hyde has shown flashes of top tier play and it seems every few weeks we see somebody talking about how great he would be on a better team than the 49ers.
But durability and injuries have been a problem for Hyde in his short career. Williams and Breida are necessary, and the 49ers will want to distribute carries in the regular season. I’m just wondering if their lack of action is a sign that the 49ers already have their running back depth chart and snap count figured out.
The 49ers have so many questions to answer at receiver and tight end and along the offensive line that I wonder if the running back position will be a point of focus in the third — and typically most important — preseason game.
Will we see more of Williams and Breida in that preseason game?