Why Jordan Mason's breakout recreation wasn't a shock to 49ers

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers sifted by means of potential late spherical and undrafted free agent working again choices within the 2022 NFL draft when Jordan Mason‘s title first got here up.

A survey of the room allowed the scouting employees and working backs coach Bobby Turner to establish Mason as a attainable addition to an ever-increasing line of under-the-radar backs to affix the Niners.

However earlier than any of that might occur, coach Kyle Shanahan seemed nearer at Mason’s school résumé and questioned why he wasn’t beginning in his remaining season at Georgia Tech. Because it turned out, Mason was the backup to Jahmyr Gibbs, who would go on to star at Alabama and turn out to be the No. 12 choose of the Detroit Lions within the 2023 draft.

“I assumed that was a reasonably good motive to be a backup,” Shanahan stated. “I consider [he] was a three-year starter earlier than his senior 12 months. He did have a hell of a faculty profession. His fashion has all the time been like this.”

It is Mason’s hard-charging method that has remodeled him from little recognized undrafted rookie to one of many stars of the NFL’s opening week. With Christian McCaffrey coping with a calf harm and Achilles tendinitis, Mason made his first NFL begin towards the New York Jets on Monday.

He emerged not simply as McCaffrey’s substitute however as the focus of an offense in any other case loaded with family names, ending with 28 carries for 147 yards and a landing with one five-yard catch. It was the second-most speeding yards by any NFL participant in Week 1 and probably the most speeding makes an attempt by any 49er in a regular-season recreation since Shanahan took over in 2017.

Whereas Mason won’t be a elegant route-runner like McCaffrey, he makes up for it with a bruising, decisive fashion that makes it onerous for a single defender to deliver him down.

“He is a dense, sturdy man and he simply runs downhill very bodily,” tight finish George Kittle stated. “Hopefully he can simply hold doing that.”

Mason’s breakout efficiency wasn’t a complete shock — he has been doing one thing related in small portions virtually from the time he arrived in San Francisco. He hasn’t had the alternatives to writer an even bigger pattern of success as a result of he is caught behind McCaffrey who, since arriving through commerce in 2022, had solely missed one recreation (2023 Week 18) for the 49ers earlier than Monday.

Mason was restricted to the function of occasional “nearer” in his first couple of years. McCaffrey has referred to Mason as San Francisco’s Mariano Rivera (New York Yankees‘ Corridor of Fame nearer) as a result of he makes use of his 5-11, 223-pound body to batter defenses within the fourth quarter after they tire from chasing McCaffrey everywhere in the discipline for the primary three.

Mason embraced that function however had simply 83 carries by means of his first two seasons. He averaged 5.6 yards per try however was nonetheless studying the way to be extra of an all-around again who might tackle an even bigger function.

It is at the very least partially why Mason was not solely behind McCaffrey but in addition Elijah Mitchell for many of his first two years. Mitchell was positioned on injured reserve final month with a hamstring harm and can miss the 2024 season.

To climb the depth chart, Mason has taken the required steps to turn out to be the entire participant Turner and Shanahan demand of their major backs. In the beginning on the guidelines? Getting on the identical web page with Turner, the legendary working backs coach who in eight years with the 49ers has coached 4 undrafted backs to publish at the very least one 100-yard speeding recreation.

In working again conferences, Turner would ask questions. Mason would not often reply as a result of, as he says, “I merely did not know.”

“He wanted to develop up, turn out to be a professional,” Turner stated throughout coaching camp. “I am very detailed, very demanding. Not that different coaches aren’t. Not solely answering, however I need the proper reply.

“The underside line is he grew up.”

In some ways, quarterback Brock Purdy and Mason have grown up collectively. They arrived as rookies in 2022 with little fanfare and even fewer expectations. Mason and Purdy realized early on that alternatives would not be handed to them, so that they spent numerous hours serving to one another study Shanahan’s voluminous playbook.

The outcomes weren’t rapid. When Purdy and Mason obtained the chance to play within the fourth quarter of a 2022 Week 11 win towards the Arizona Cardinals in Mexico Metropolis, Purdy took a snap out of the pistol with Mason behind him. Purdy caught the snap and turned left at hand the ball to Mason. The one drawback was Mason had gone proper, leaving a damaged play that Purdy become a 5-yard achieve of his personal.

“To see him during the last two years, simply push the envelope increasingly more yearly,” Purdy stated. “He is earned it. He is the sort of man that it was not given to him. … I am so comfortable for him and I do know he’s going to maintain pushing.”

McCaffrey’s presence opened Mason’s eyes to what it takes to turn out to be an efficient go catcher whereas enjoying working again. To that finish, Mason spent $3,000 to buy a Jugs machine within the offseason. When Mason was again residence in Tennessee, his father would shoot passes to Mason as he labored on his route working.

In his first two seasons, Mason was focused simply 4 occasions on 37 routes. In opposition to the Jets, Mason was solely focused as soon as however he made the catch for five yards and a primary down.

When Mason wasn’t in Tennessee, he remained within the Bay Space understanding with the fellows charged with tackling him: the linebackers. With Fred Warner, Curtis Robinson and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles as exercise companions, Mason rapidly took to the aggressive parts of mundane duties like working and lifting weights. These classes additionally helped Mason enhance as a blocker, which allowed him to play a career-high 59 offensive snaps towards the Jets, greater than double his earlier excessive.

“It’s cool to see the younger, naive, undrafted rookie that is available in right here and now to see him as any person that we are able to belief,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk stated. “He actually stepped issues up and was capable of begin being utilized within the go recreation and understanding all of his protections and all of the little issues as a result of there’s a lot extra to being a working again on this offense than simply working the ball.”

NFL gamers who emerge two or three years into their profession typically discuss how the sport slows down for them as they get extra accustomed to the league.

However Mason says every little thing remains to be transferring 100 miles per hour, which is why he does not intend to take his foot off the fuel any time quickly. For every time his subsequent alternative arrives — which could be Sunday on the Minnesota Vikings (1 p.m. ET, CBS) — he is aware of there is not any time to waste wanting backward.

“You simply obtained to have that coronary heart,” Mason stated. “You bought to have that canine in you to need it. It builds up and also you simply play with all you bought.”