Fantasy Upside
Raheem Mostert remains motivated to prove himself. He quote tweeted a post in April, on his 29th birthday, highlighting his place atop the NFL's career rushing yards per attempt list with a simple message about how his doubters will "wake up eventually." Mostert was one of the many 49ers limited by injuries in 2020, as he played in just eight games. The tailback showed off some impressive quickness when he did play last season, registering the two fastest speeds in the NFL according to the league's Next Gen Stats. Mostert totaled 521 rushing yards and two touchdowns in eight games last year in between stints on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain.
Fantasy Downside
While Tevin Coleman and Jerick McKinnon are no longer in the mix in San Francisco, the 49ers traded up to land Ohio State running back Trey Sermon, adding him to the mix with free-agent addition Wayne Gallman, another rookie in Elijah Mitchell and holdovers Jeff Wilson Jr. (who will miss time after offseason knee surgery) and JaMycal Hasty, Mostert will have ample competition heading into a contract year.
2021 Bottom Line
A healthy Mostert could and should lead this backfield, though it's hard to make any guarantees about production without knowing who looks good in training camp to Kyle Shanahan. The Shanahan clan has a track record of turning supposed no-names into 1,000-yard rushers and post-season heroes. Mostert was one of those not long ago. You'd think San Francisco would need to rely on the running game again this year, whether it's Jimmy Garoppolo or Trey Lance taking snaps. Go ahead and take a chance on Mostert, who will be targeting his last big contract in 2022, meaning he'll be under pressure to both stay healthy and remain productive to keep the primary role.
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