Why Improved Backfield Will Bolster San Francisco 49ers Offense

The San Francisco 49ers backfield is in a better position than it was last year.

That may strike some as an odd statement following the loss of all-time leading rusher Frank Gore in free agency, but, going into the 2015 season, the Niners have better depth and more versatility at the running back position and can expect their ball-carriers to be significant contributors to the offense in the new campaign.

San Francisco drafted Carlos Hyde in the second round of the 2014 draft, a pick that provided the Niners with the heir apparent to Gore and left them with an embarrassment of riches in the backfield. Hyde and Kendall Hunter were seen as the primary backups to Gore, with LaMichael James there as a change of pace option and Marcus Lattimore the potential wild card as he attempted to recover from the knee injuries he sustained at South Carolina.

However, that depth quickly disintegrated. Hunter suffered an ACL tear in training camp and missed the entire season, James was cut after Week 1, and Lattimore called time on a pro career that sadly never got off the ground after showing so much promise in college.

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Fast-forward to the present day, and Hyde, barring injury, is poised to be given the keys to the 49ers running game. Hunter is back and is joined by two new teammates in free acquisition: Reggie Bush and rookie Mike Davis.

Of course there are no guarantees Hunter will be back at 100 percent or that Hyde, after impressing in flashes in his rookie year, will immediately become the all-round bellcow the 49ers want him to be. The good thing about the quality of the depth the Niners now have in the backfield is that they can survive some inconsistency from Hyde and Hunter.

Hyde, in putting up 333 yards and four touchdowns, displayed the brute force and burst that convinced the 49ers to take him in the second round, but he remains a one-dimensional back who may need to become more than just a one-cut runner to be a consistent success in the NFL. He will definitely need to get better in pass protection, an area where Gore has been one of the best backs in the league for a long time.

While Hyde develops his game as a blocker, Hunter and Bush both have the experience in that department and can help protect quarterback Colin Kaepernick and also serve as strong complements to a power back like Hyde. Hunter has been an excellent backup since being drafted by the Niners back in 2011, displaying the toughness to run inside and the shiftiness in space to excel when attacking the perimeter of a defense.

How Hunter performs in 2015 will obviously depend on how quickly he gets back to the form that has seen him average 4.6 yards per carry in his time with the 49ers. The early signs appear to be good for the former Oklahoma State back, with new head coach Jim Tomsula stating that Hunter is "coming along great."

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Hunter is the favorite to be Hyde's No. 2, but if his recovery stalls and he is unable fulfill that role right away, then Bush and Davis are both good enough to help share the load.

Bush should feature heavily in the offense even if Hunter gets back to his best due to the 2006 second-overall pick's ability to catch passes out of the backfield. Indeed, Bush put up 1,500 total yards as recently as 2013 and, while he was hampered by injury last season and does not possess the same speed as he did when he came into the league, is elusive enough to remain a threat in the passing game.

Davis, meanwhile, is less likely to see extensive action in his rookie year but possesses a similar running style to that of Hyde and gives the 49ers the opportunity to develop a potentially devastating pair capable of bludgeoning opposing defenses for years to come.

Although Hyde is set to be the guy in the running game, the Niners now have the possibility to use more of a committee approach going forward. That was an option they did not have with Gore, who was clearly unhappy at ceding carries to Hyde last year and recently admitted to being dissatisfied with the touches he received in 2014, per ESPN's Mike Wells.

It is no surprise to see Gore disappointed to give up carries given that he had previously featured in what was pretty much a one-back system in San Francisco. But the 49ers managed to get a look at what they have in Hyde by allowing him to eat into Gore's touches, and the fact is what they have is more likely to deliver success for their offense in 2015.

As much as it is true that Gore was underused in 2014, there is no getting away from the fact that he is a player in decline who does not possess the same explosion as Hyde and at 32 has, in all likelihood, at best a couple of years left in him as an NFL tailback.

Gore's skills in pass protection will be missed, but in short the 49ers have a starting running back better equipped than Gore to be productive in 2015 and a stable of backups capable of providing versatility and making up for Hyde's shortcomings.

The success of the 49ers backfield will depend on how willing offensive coordinator Geep Chryst is to stick with the run and the performance of an offensive line hit by the departure of Mike Iupati—ranked as the No. 2 run-blocking guard in the league by Pro Football Focus in 2014—and the retirement of right tackle Anthony Davis, which have placed a great deal of pressure on San Francisco's younger linemen to deliver immediately.

San Francisco general manager Trent Baalke, per Tim Kawakami of The San Jose Mercury News, declared the team's intention to run the ball as far back as January and reasserted that desire with the pick of Davis. Should the 49ers stick to that game plan, it will be of great help to what is an increasingly inexperienced offensive line and to Kaepernick.

This stable of backs is more than talented enough to take the attention away from Kaepernick and allow him to open things up through the air and with his legs. The 49ers lacked explosiveness and balance on offense last year, but, heading into 2015, their backfield has the capability to give them both and help engineer a rebound season.

Nicholas McGee is a San Francisco 49ers Featured Columnist based in Leeds, England. Follow him on Twitter @nicholasmcgee24.