Elijah Mitchell, 49ers Who Must Play More Snaps in Week 2 vs. Rams

After months of anticipation, 49ers fans were treated to the best possible outcome in Week 1. Brock Purdy played well in a 30-7 shellacking of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The win sent a message to the league that the team's faith in Purdy was not misplaced, the 49ers are still one of the best teams in the NFC and a Super Bowl berth is definitely in play.

That doesn't mean there isn't plenty to analyze and breakdown from the 49ers big win. This is a team that has big goals that are going to take constant improvement to get there. They also have to stay healthy.

That's why it will be interesting to see how the snap counts change from week-to-week. The 49ers obviously took care of business on Sunday, but there are still some players that we'd like to see get more run.

Here's a look at three of them, including Elijah Mitchell who took a backseat to Christian McCaffrey.

All snap counts from Football Guys.

Elijah Mitchell

AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez

San Francisco 49ers running back Elijah Mitchell (25) during an NFL divisional round playoff football game against the Dallas Cowboys in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Christian McCaffrey saw the lion's share of the carries and snaps in Week 1. He was on the field for 85 percent of the offensive snaps and had 22 of the team's 34 carries.

Meanwhile, Elijah Mitchell saw just 10 snaps with five carries for 10 yards.

Dan Graziano of ESPN reported ahead of Week 1 that the Niners had a plan to keep McCaffrey healthy all season. That included getting him off the field more and playing Elijah Mitchell and Tyrion Davis-Price in spots.

That plan might be frustrating for fantasy football managers, but it is in the best interest of the Niners. They have one of the best groups of skill players in the league and don't have to rely on McCaffrey to be one of the league's best offenses.

Mitchell is a capable runner despite the 10-yard performance in Week 1. It's difficult to get a rhythm going as a runner when you are averaging just over two carries per quarter.

Given McCaffrey's extensive injury history, it would be wise to give Mitchell more looks and keep McCaffrey clean.

Ji'ayir Brown

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SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 19: Ji'Ayir Brown #27 of the San Francisco 49ers pursues the play against the Denver Broncos in the second quarter at Levi's Stadium on August 19, 2023 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Those looking forward to seeing what rookie Ji'Ayir Brown can bring to the table in his NFL debut were left disappointed in Week 1. The third-round pick was active but did not log a defensive snap.

Barring injury, Brown is not going to be a starter this season. The 49ers have a strong tandem of safeties in Talanoa Hufanga and Tashaun Gipson Sr. Hufanga had five tackles, one for a loss and a pass deflection while Gipson Sr. ranked 21st in PFF grade among all safeties.

But this is a game in which the Niners won 30-7. Gipson played all 63 defensive snaps while Hufanga was on the field for 61 of them with George Odum coming in for two plays.

At the very least, Brown should be the safety that goes in the game if they want to spell either safety. The third-round rookie has a higher ceiling than Odum and it would be good to see what the rookie can do.

Again, the Niners are a team with Super Bowl aspirations. The regular seasons should serve as a means to make sure they have the best team possible in the postseason. That means getting Brown some more game reps to be ready if his number gets called.

Nick Bosa

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PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - SEPTEMBER 10: Nick Bosa #97 of the San Francisco 49ers warms up prior to a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on September 10, 2023 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

The 49ers did just fine on defense, but the full force of the unit won't be felt until Nick Bosa is taken off a pitch count. The defensive end was limited to just 35 snaps in Week 1 as he comes back from a holdout that lasted nearly all the way up to the season opener.

With Bosa still working himself back into regular season shape the Niners were cautious with their defensive superstar. However, head coach Kyle Shanahan sounded positive that Bosa would be ready for a bigger workload Week 2.

"I know he got 35 plays. He was full on those," Shanahan said, per Lindsey Pallares of 49ers.com. "He played like he was full go. We just wanted to take into account recovery. We're really happy to be able to get a win and play the way we did by reaching the play counter not exceeding the part that we had planned on."

Last year, Bosa played anywhere from 36-60 snaps a game so this was slightly lower than his workload in 2022. But it makes a lot of sense that they would limit him to reduce the risk of injury while he works himself back into game shape.

That being said, the Niners defense is going to rely on him being an elite pass-rusher and that means taking on a full workload again.