San Francisco 49ers running backs coach Bobby Turner has been around the league for a while and has seen a lot of players. Needless to say he is not easy to impress. What has impressed him, however, is the competitiveness of his new back Jerick McKinnon. “He competes every snap. It’s important to him.”
Turner calls McKinnon a “complete running back” which is what the team is looking for. He is very happy with him being able to catch the ball as well as pass block and believes he will help the offense get to the next level. Tuner wouldn’t compare him to former 49ers running back Carols Hyde or any other player but he did say that one difference is that he’s faster notably having explosive speed.
Turner reports that Matt Breida has been doing well especially catching the ball with people around him. He added that both he and fellow rookie Joe Williams are maturing as expected with it being in their second year in the system. Both are progressing as expected.
While Turner says the depth chart of the running backs groups will continue to be “in progress” McKinnon and Breida appeared to have the top two spots locked down in OTAs. He continued by saying no one is safe, no one is a starter or the two or three yet.
While Turner won’t reveal much, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo expressed how much easier his job is when he has smart guys like McKinnon and Breida in the backfield with him. When asked about his deep pass to Breida during practice, Garoppolo revealed that it is something that the second year player from Georgia Southern would be asked to do. He added that everyone in a skill position on the offense has enough speed to be a deep threat which makes us all dream about watching a game even more. The season can’t get here fast enough!