YouWager Odds - 12/1

The San Francisco 49ers spent big money this offseason on former Minnesota Vikings tailback Jerick McKinnon, but there is some speculation as to whether McKinnon can shoulder a true bellcow workload. McKinnon had 41.84% and 30.08% of the Vikings carries in 2016 and 2017, respectively, but he was far from spectacular in either season. He was 27th out of 27 running backs in Rushing NEP per play in 2016 (min 150 attempts), and 33rd of 34 last season.

The 49ers' leading back from a year ago, Carlos Hyde, has taken 58.82% of the 49ers carries from last season as well as 13.54% of the total team targets. While McKinnon is far from a slouch in the passing game, he could benefit overall if he were to be paired with a more traditional lead back. This would mark the second straight season that he could share the backfield with a Murray (last year playing with Latavius Murray in Minnesota).

Of course, this is somewhat of a longshot for a reason as the contract that McKinnon has with the team makes signing Murray unlikely. Given his apparent decline, one would have to seriously wonder whether Murray would be a good fit for Kyle Shanahan's scheme and even the Niners' youth movement out west. Opportunity or not, it's tough to picture Murray fitting in with San Fran.