Christian McCaffrey didn’t play, but the San Francisco 49ers offense was not devoid of weapons Monday night, and that included at the running back position.
With McCaffrey out, the bulk of the 49ers’ carries has gone to Jordan Mason, a third-year player who made his first career start. While he hasn’t had a lot of regular season work, Mason has definitely made the most of his limited opportunities, and he did so again against the Jets.
Against a staunch defense, Mason rumbled for 147 yards on 28 carries that included a five-yard score to open the third quarter. The 49ers dominated the Jets by a score of 32-19.
Get to know Monday night’s breakout star below:
Productive back
Mason played in 33 games during his two NFL seasons that were both spent with the 49ers. He has 83 career carries for 464 yards and four touchdowns. The thing that really sticks out is Mason’s eye-popping 5.6 yards-per-carry average. He averaged a whopping 6.0 yards-per-carry as a rookie and 5.2 yards-per-carry in 2023.
Can carry the load
He hasn’t been asked to often, but Mason has handled a decent workload before. He had three games where he had at least eight carries during his rookie season. Last year, he had a career-high 69 yards and a touchdown on just 10 carries during San Francisco’s blowout win over the Cowboys in Week 5.
Former Yellow Jacket
Mason spent his college years at Georgia Tech, where his career yards-per-carry average was also 5.2 yards. His best season occurred in 2019, when he rushed for 899 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 5.2 yards-per-carry.
NFL comp
Mason is similar to Najee Harris, Pittsburgh’s four-year veteran who is the only player to rush for over 1,000 yards in each of the last three seasons. Like Harris, Mason is a strong, sturdy back who is difficult to bring down. Mason is a decisive runner who is more productive running between the tackles.
Mason’s game is also similar to Marion Barber‘s, the former Cowboys Pro Bowl running back.
