The San Francisco 49ers have boasted one of the NFL's top rushing units almost every year since Kyle Shanahan took over as head coach in 2017. Over the past four seasons, the 49ers ranked top-15 in rushing attempts and rushing yards, and they ranked top-seven in both categories in the two seasons San Francisco made deep postseason runs (2019 and 2021).
And up until they traded for Christian McCaffrey, the 49ers had accomplished all of their rushing success with relatively unknown talent. The team's top-three scrimmage yard running backs over the past five seasons were: Carlos Hyde (a veteran holdover from the Jim Harbaugh era), 2021 sixth-round rookie Elijah Mitchell and three undrafted free agents in Raheem Mostert, Matt Breida and Jeff Wilson Jr.