Raheem Mostert’s trade request sent a jolt into a typically quiet portion of the NFL offseason. One of the angles to dissect with his demand is what type of leverage he holds over the 49ers following a breakout 2019 campaign where he led the club with 772 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on the ground, and posted a whopping 5.6 yards per attempt on 137 carries.
San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan is known for having a plug-and-play system at running back that’s allowed some relatively unknown backs to find success in his offense. One school of thought is that even with minimal experience in the backfield, the 49ers could cobble together a successful group of running backs even without their leading rusher from last season.
There would also be a concern from Mostert’s side that it wouldn’t be as easy to find production outside of Shanahan’s offensive ecosystem. That’s what history says, anyway.
We went back through all of Shanahan’s years as an offensive coordinator beginning with the Texans in 2008, dug up the stats on each of his teams’ leading rushers, and split up how they fared with and without him.
Here’s what we found:
Steve Slaton
Slaton was the Texans’ lead back in 2008 and 2009 — Shanahan’s first two seasons as an offensive coordinator. He was drafted in the third round of the 2008 draft and immediately made a big impact. He rushed 268 times for 1,282 yards and nine touchdowns, while hauling in 50 receptions for 377 yards and one score. His first season was the best of his pro career, and he followed it up with a significantly less productive second year. Still — his two years under Shanahan were by far the best of his career. Slaton spent the 2010 season in Houston, then made his way to Miami after spending the first part of the 2011 campaign with the Texans. That 2011 campaign was his final season as a pro.
Numbers with Shanahan: 27 games, 399 carries, 1,791 rushing yards, 12 rushing touchdowns, 94 receptions, 794 receiving yards, 5 receiving touchdowns.
Numbers without Shanahan: 18 games, 43 carries, 177 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 6 receptions, 14 receiving yards.
Ryan Torain
Mike Shanahan, Kyle’s dad, drafted Torain in the fifth round of the 2008 draft. Torain didn’t have much success as a rookie and was cut with an injury settlement prior to the 2009 season. Washington, where Mike was now the head coach and Kyle was the offensive coordinator, scooped him up before the 2010 season. That year was the best of his career with 742 yards and four touchdowns on 164 carries, along with 18 catches for 125 yards. He didn’t replicate it the following season, but still managed 200 rushing yards before going to the New York Giants in 2012 for what would be his final NFL season.
Numbers with Shanahan: 18 games, 223 carries, 942 rushing yards, 5 rushing touchdowns, 24 receptions, 148 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns.
Numbers without Shanahan: 4 games, 15 carries, 69 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown.
Roy Helu
Helu was part of the reason Torain’s numbers saw such a steep decline in 2011. He posted 151 rushes for 640 yards and two touchdowns. He also racked up 49 receptions, 379 yards and a touchdown through the air. Washington selected Helu in the fourth round of the 2011 draft and immediately put him to work as the team’s lead back. Injuries cut his second season short, and he was never able to replicate his rookie success, although he still contributed in the 2013 campaign as a reserve back. His production dwindled in 2014, then he spent nine unproductive games with the Raiders in 2015 to finish his career.
Numbers with Shanahan: 34 games, 215 carries, 916 rushing yards, 6 rushing touchdowns, 87 receptions, 675 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdowns.
Numbers without Shanahan: 23 games, 57 carries, 255 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 51 receptions, 552 receiving yards, 3 receiving touchdowns.
Alfred Morris
Morris is a bit of an outlier on this list because he’s the only one to have a 1,000-yard season outside of Shanahan’s offense. He joined Washington as a sixth-round pick in 2012 and immediately posted big-time numbers with 1,613 yards and 13 touchdowns in a zone-read heavy offense behind Robert Griffin III. He backed that up with another big year and a Pro Bowl nod in his second season. Shanahan left in 2014, but Morris still managed to post 1,074 yards and eight touchdowns. The drop-off in production came in 2015 when he put up a career-low 751 yards. He went to Dallas for the following two seasons, re-linked with Shanahan in San Francisco in 2018, then played one game in Arizona last season. He wasn’t as effective for the 49ers during that second stint. Morris found success without Shanahan, but his two best years came in those first two seasons in Washington.
Numbers with Shanahan: 44 games, 722 carries, 3,316 rushing yards, 22 rushing touchdowns, 28 receptions, 228 receiving yards.
Numbers without Shanahan: 61 games, 652 carries, 2,615 rushing yards, 12 rushing touchdowns, 37 receptions, 266 receiving yards.
Terrance West
West is one of two players on this list whose best seasons came without Shanahan. He led the Browns in rushing in 2014 — Shanahan’s lone season in Cleveland. West led the club with 171 carries, 673 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. It looked during his second season like he’d all into obscurity when he didn’t score a touchdown and rushed for 231 yards on 62 attempts in two games with the Titans and six with the Ravens. He stuck in Baltimore though and shined in his second season there — putting up a career-best 193 rushes, 774 yards and five touchdowns on the ground, along with 34 receptions, 236 yards and a touchdown in the air. He had one more subpar season in Baltimore during his final season in 2017.
Numbers with Shanahan: 14 games, 171 carries, 673 rushing yards, 4 rushing touchdowns, 11 receptions, 64 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown.
Numbers without Shanahan: 29 games, 294 carries, 1,143 rushing yards, 7 rushing touchdowns, 40 receptions, 280 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown.
Isaiah Crowell
Crowell is the second player in this group to have success without Shanahan — and he shared a backfield with West in 2014 as an undrafted rookie out of Alabama State. He had 148 carries, 607 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns, along with 87 receiving yards on nine catches. He wound up posting three more very good years with the Browns before moving on to the Jets where he had a strong final season in 2018.
Numbers with Shanahan: 16 games, 148 carries, 607 rushing yards, 8 rushing touchdowns, 9 receptions, 87 receiving yards.
Numbers without Shanahan: 61 games, 732 carries, 3,196 rushing yards, 19 rushing touchdowns, 108 receptions, 835 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown.
Devonta Freeman
The start to Freeman’s career was unremarkable. The 2014 fourth-round pick from Florida State ran the ball 65 times for 248 yards and a touchdown. He also had 30 catches for 225 yards and a touchdown in the air. Then Kyle Shanahan arrived as the offensive coordinator. For two seasons Freeman was one of the NFL’s most prolific backs and earned two trips to the Pro Bowl. In his first year under Shanahan, Freeman racked up 1,056 rushing yards and a league-high 11 rushing touchdowns. He also had 73 receptions with 578 receiving yards and three scores. Freeman posted similar numbers in 2016 for the league’s highest-scoring offense. Shanahan left in 2017, and while Freeman has been okay when healthy, he’s not been the same dominant force he was in Shanahan’s scheme.
Numbers with Shanahan: 31 games, 492 carries, 2,135 rushing yards, 22 rushing touchdowns, 127 receptions, 1,040 receiving yards, 5 receiving touchdowns.
Numbers without Shanahan: 46 games, 459 carries, 1,837 rushing yards, 10 rushing touchdowns, 130 receptions, 975 receiving yards, 6 receiving touchdowns.
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