The San Francisco 49ers are in an interesting spot at the running back position. Incumbent starter Carlos Hyde spent a vast majority of the offseason reportedly on the roster bubble.
For a team that's gone through a major roster overhaul under first-year head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch, this seemed to make a lot of sense. They want there own guys in there, players that fit what Shanahan likes to do on offense. And for his part, Hyde has yet to prove he can remain healthy.
Despite finishing last season as the 15th-best fantasy running back, Hyde missed another three games to injury. That came on the heels of him having to sit out over half the 2015 campaign.
Enter into the equation two rookie running backs.
San Francisco selected former Utah running back Joe Williams in the fourth round of April's draft after both Shanahan and Lynch banged the table for him. Meanwhile, the team picked up Matt Breida as a priority free agent shortly after the draft.
Both have been super impressive thus far in camp.
The two combined to put up 114 total yards on 20 touches in San Francisco's preseason opening win over the Kansas City Chiefs last week.
Williams went for 60 rushing yards on seven attempts, while Breida added 40 yards on 11 rushes.
We really shouldn't be incredibly surprised about how well each looked in Shanahan's offense. Here's the reigning NFL Assistant Coach of the Year, someone who helped Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman combine for 2,482 total yards and 24 touchdowns with the Atlanta Falcons last season.
Shanahan loves to employ the two-back system, which could potentially spell doom for Hyde's fantasy relevance this season. That's one of the first keys we have to look at here. Then again, that's also assuming Hyde is not traded or released before the start of the regular season.
Williams was an enigmatic figure heading into the draft because he temporarily quit the Utah football team after dealing with emotional issues following the 10-year anniversary of his sister's death. But the 49ers were on the spot with him believing that the young man was still committed to football.
Last year with Utah, Williams put up over 1,500 total yards to go with 10 touchdowns. He also averaged a whopping 6.7 yards per attempt.
On the other hand, Breida proved himself to be dominant with Georgia Southern during a three-year career that saw him put up 3,896 total yards and 40 touchdowns. Breida also one-upped Williams with an average of nearly seven yards per attempt.
This is a storyline we're going to want to follow as the 49ers play their final three preseason games. Should the team make the surprising move to get rid of Hyde, both Williams and Breida will become fantasy relevant options.