49ers mailbag: Envisioning a McCaffrey-Mason duo; shadowing Justin Jefferson?

Better late than never, right?

We’d planned to dust off the mailbag a lot sooner than this, but major San Francisco 49ers events kept pushing it back. Then the 49ers’ Monday start to the season delayed it to now, the end of the week.

The plan from here on out is to return it to its normal Tuesday slot, and I will be reading the comments sections for queries. Thanks for all the good ones this week. As usual, some questions have been slightly modified for clarity and (usually changing “Kyle” to “Shanahan”).

Seeing how Jordan Mason performed in Week 1, could you ever see Shanahan putting him in the backfield beside Christian McCaffrey as a dual back threat? — Kevin P

Yes. Remember, McCaffrey and Jeff Wilson Jr. lined up in the backfield together on eight snaps in a game against the Los Angeles Rams in 2022 with Wilson operating as a lead blocker on at least one of those plays. The 49ers traded Wilson to the Miami Dolphins after that game, so we never saw that combination again, but it serves as a blueprint for what they could do with a CMC-JPM backfield.

I will say, however, that while Mason has worked on his hands, Wilson was/is a better and more natural receiver and route runner. That’s why having him share a backfield with McCaffrey was advantageous — either one could get a carry or get a pass target.

I get keeping with the “hot hand” in Mason, but why didn’t Shanahan use his other running backs? — Steven G.

Running backs coach Bobby Turner, not Shanahan, is the one who sends the running backs in and out of games. The 49ers, of course, did have a change-of-pace runner against the New York Jets — Deebo Samuel Sr. He lined up in the backfield 10 times. They also knew Mason could handle the big load after having watched him get the lion’s share of the first-team carries this summer and not buckle under the load.

If McCaffrey doesn’t play, do you expect Isaac Guerendo to get some snaps if Mason needs relief or do you expect Shanahan rolls with the vet in Patrick Taylor Jr. as the RB2 early? — Zach M.

Neither Guerendo nor Taylor had any carries against the Jets. But Guerendo did play three offensive snaps versus zero for Taylor, which suggests he’s the next guy up in the pecking order. That could always fluctuate, of course, based on who looks better in practice. And Guerendo probably gets a little extra scrutiny because he’s a rookie.

Most analysts are raving about the 49ers’ Week 1 performance. Jake Moody did well making 6-of-6 field goals, but there doesn’t seem to be much concern about not finishing off these drives with touchdowns instead of three points — Jon S.

You’re right. The 49ers converted 40 percent of their red-zone trips into touchdowns, which ranked 21st in the NFL for Week 1. Last season they were first at 68 percent.

But they also were playing without the reigning Offensive Player of the Year (McCaffrey), Brandon Aiyuk clearly wasn’t in his groove and Trent Williams had only arrived a week earlier. I think the fact that they gained 401 yards — the fifth most of any team in Week 1 — despite those obstacles is why analysts seemed so optimistic.

Jake Moody was named the NFC special teams player of the week. Moody’s six field goals tied a single-game franchise record.

The others who have kicked six for SF: Ray Wersching (in 1983), Jeff Wilkins (1996) and Robbie Gould (2017).

— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) September 11, 2024

Of the 49ers who have hit six field goals in a game, I wonder how many kicked as many 50-plus yards field goals as Jake Moody did? — George

Answer: none

• Ray Wersching: 23, 32, 47, 52, 24, 23
• Jeff Wilkins: 21, 43, 46, 29, 29, 38
• Robbie Gould: 38, 48, 28, 50, 48, 45
• Moody: 46, 51, 31, 53, 23, 42

What is Ricky Pearsall able to do while he’s on the non-football injury list? — Kyle P.

Everything but practice, essentially. He’s taking part in team meetings, hanging out in the locker room as usual. Yesterday I spotted him shooting hoops in the far corner of the locker room. He then had a long sit-down session with Samuel at Samuel’s locker. All of which is to say, everything seems normal with Pearsall. If anything, he seems bored.

You wrote that in 2013, after losing the Super Bowl, the 49ers “were willing to sacrifice some regular season wins if it meant being fresher in the playoffs.” Do you think their approach this season will be the same as 2013 or are they going to stick with the pedal-to-the-metal-let’s-get-the-#1-seed approach? — Allen B.

Nice pull, Allen! I don’t think this team is quite as concerned about wear and tear as the 2013 team was. That group had a lot of high-end players — Justin Smith, Frank Gore, Carlos Rogers, Vernon Davis — who were in their 30s or approaching 30. Patrick Willis was 28 at the time but was battling the foot issues that would force him to retire two years later.

I thought the 49ers’ use of Samuel on Monday revealed their go-for-broke mentality. There’s no way they would put Samuel in the backfield 10 times if they were leery about going too hard at the beginning of the season.

“I’m about to pass out,” Samuel told a mic’ed up Kyle Juszczyk at the end of the game.

“I know,” an admiring Juszczyk said. “I don’t know how you do it.”

Another factor: In 2013, the top two seeds in the NFL playoffs received first-round byes, offering teams slightly more wiggle room. Since 2020, only the top seed gets the week off.

Ordered extra juice with this mic 🧃

Mic’d Up powered by @Cisco. pic.twitter.com/0ZidCO2TBb

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) September 12, 2024

Why did Ronnie Bell have offensive snaps over Jacob Cowing? — John L.

A combination of the 49ers’ usual rookie hesitance and the fact that the game had become a run-heavy one and Bell is the bigger, sturdier blocking option. Seven of Bell’s 13 snaps were running plays. It’s also notable that Bell can play any of the three receiver spots. I’m not sure Cowing has that acumen yet.

I read your ortho article. I’m still a little confused on McCaffrey’s Achilles tendonitis. Does it eventually heal completely, or will it always be there and flare up randomly? — Ben S.

I texted your question to the orthopedic surgeon, Dan Solomon, I interviewed for the story. He replied that not only does it almost always resolve but the susceptibility will wane over time.

Will Nick Sorenson have Charvarius Ward mirror Justin Jefferson? — Greg C.

I had the same thought. That would make a lot of sense, especially if Minnesota Vikings receiver Jordan Addison, who missed the first two practices this week with an ankle injury, doesn’t play. Still, the 49ers’ other cornerback, Deommodore Lenoir, spoke this week as if he would face Jefferson from time to time.

“I feel like he’s the best receiver in the league,” he said. “This week I’m gonna have to be on my A-game if he comes to my side or I’m in the slot. I’ve gotta be locked in.”

Which players do you believe are most likely to receive extensions/restructure contracts to free up more money next year to extend Ward, Brock Purdy, Dre Greenlaw, etc.? — Rohan G.

I don’t know about freeing up money, but I’d be very surprised if the team hadn’t already approached Lenoir about a contract extension. He’s precisely the type of player they’d like to keep around: tough, versatile, home grown and ascending.

The Niners didn’t blitz nearly at all on Monday. Do you see that changing this week? (I don’t work for the Viking coaching staff) — Dan M.

I don’t think so, though that will be interesting to watch considering what happened in Minnesota last season.

They blitzed Kirk Cousins nine times, which isn’t a lot in the NFL, but is above the 49ers’ average. Cousins made them pay. He was 7-of-9 for 134 yards when blitzed, including a big touchdown just before the half. Both the players and Shanahan were upset about the blitzing after the game and it seemed to play a large role in defensive coordinator Steve Wilks’ dismissal after the season. The subtext: That’s not the way we do things here.

By contrast, San Francisco blitzed Aaron Rodgers just twice on Monday. This, of course, has been the blueprint for facing Rodgers all the way back to when Vic Fangio’s defenses routinely thwarted him — hit home with four rushers, vary your coverages and get takeaways. Maybe the 49ers switch things up against Sam Darnold on Sunday, but my guess is that they continue to adhere to their defensive roots and don’t blitz very much at all.

Everyone is raving about the defense and the result was great but the pass rush wasn’t really there. Is the team transitioning away from a ferocious pass rush to winning with coverage? — Alex A.

Can’t it be both? I think the single sack had everything to do with Rodgers trying to get the ball out of his hand quickly. Per Next Gen Stats, Rodgers’ time-to-throw stat — how much time elapses from snap to throw — was 2.47 seconds, the third quickest in Week 1 (Jayden Daniels 2.35, Baker Mayfield 2.36).

Matt, what is the toughest 49ers player name you’ve had to spell? Juszczyk has to be up there. I could only make it to “Jus …” before checking! — Jason M.

I say “ZCZ” to myself every time I write his name. I figure I’ve typed his name at least twice a week since 2017, or well over 800 times, so I think I’ve gotten it down by now. Sam Okuayinonu isn’t a picnic, either. But the name that’s messed me up the most — and my editor, Jimmy Durkin, will attest to this — is Ji’Ayir Brown. I really want to omit that first “i”.

(Top photos of Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason: Kyle Terada and Darren Yamashita / USA Today)