49ers RB Frank Gore last season rushed for 1,211 yards -- the second-highest output of his career.
There's the perception that the 49ers did not use him as much in the second half of the season, which really wasn't the case. Gore carried more than 20 times in five games last season. Three of those games came within the final seven weeks of the season. Only once in those seven games, however, did he average more than 3.7 yards an attempt.
Yet, in the playoffs, Gore rushed for 163 yards on 29 attempts for a 5.6-yard average.
As Gore begins his eighth NFL season and has 1,653 regular-season rush attempts, the 49ers finally have some quality depth behind him. It seems likely that Gore's play time will decrease this season with more players capable of filling in.
This speculation is reasonable considering the team added Brandon Jacobs in free agency and LaMichael James in the draft. Gore still figures to be the team's RB1, but a reduction in workload would make him a fantasy RB2.
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