Kyle Shanahan didn’t exactly hand Kaelon Black a role out of charity in Week 1. The rookie earned it, and the numbers against the Los Angeles Rams made that clear.
Black and Christian McCaffrey split the workload in a way few would have expected, with Black getting 14 carries to McCaffrey’s 10. It was an eye-catching distribution, but Shanahan said it came down to how Black handled the week leading up to the game.
“I was a little surprised at the end just that Kaelon got more than Christian. That was just kind of how the game went,” said Kyle Shanahan. “He earned in training camp to be our number two back, so he was who we were going to go with and just how prepared he seemed throughout the week.
“He showed during the week how attentive he was, how much he knew, how much he was studying whether he got to rep or not. And when you do that, even though certain things you definitely want to keep Christian in on, that just makes it a lot easier for [running backs coach Robert Turner Jr.] Bobby to sub him.”
The 49ers have talked for multiple offseasons about cutting back McCaffrey’s workload, and this was the first time it really looked like they meant it. Black’s usage was not a token gesture. It was the result of a rookie showing up like he belonged.
He was one of the more divisive picks in San Francisco’s 2026 draft class, and some around the team had reasons to question the evaluation. Still, the 49ers clearly liked what they saw, and through one game, that call looks sharp.
Black’s 44% snap share - 28 snaps - was the highest by a 49ers running back not named McCaffrey in a game since McCaffrey arrived in 2022, according to Next Gen Stats. That’s a striking number for any back, let alone a rookie.
And if the 49ers didn’t trust him, he wouldn’t have been on the field at all. Jordan James would have dressed instead, while Black would have been inactive. Instead, Black forced his way into a meaningful offensive role by doing the work behind the scenes.
“That’s how he was advertised coming out of college,” Shanahan said. “He’s rare in terms of his maturity and just how much of a pro he's seemed like since day one.”
In Other News...
Kaepernick Just Reopened A 49ers Era Story Fans Will Remember
Colin Kaepernick is back in the conversation with a new memoir, The Perilous Fight, and the book has already started to reopen one of the most familiar chapters from his 49ers years. Released Sept. 15, the memoir leans into personal stories and reflection, including an anecdote about Taylor Swift and his adoptive mother, while also giving Kaepernick another platform to revisit the larger arc of his career and the fight that followed it.
On a podcast interview the next day, Kaepernick shifted from memoir mode to sharper criticism, taking aim at Patriots owner Robert Kraft over the removal of rapper Macklemore from Ed Sheerans tour. He used the moment to argue that NFL owners work together to protect their interests, while also revisiting his grievance against the league and how his view of owner cooperation has evolved. For 49ers fans, it is another reminder that Kaepernicks story remains as much about the leagues power structure as it is about the quarterback who once defined an era in San Francisco. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Avoid One Levi's Stadium Wrinkle Against The Dolphins
Week 2 brings a more comfortable setup for the 49ers at Levis Stadium, where theyll host the Dolphins under conditions that look far kinder than some of the early-season home games San Francisco has endured in recent years. Forecasts for kickoff call for 72 degrees, clear skies and light winds, the kind of afternoon that should let football, not the weather, drive the conversation.
For a team that has had to manage excessive heat in past daytime games at home, that matters more than it might seem on paper. The Dolphins arrive as a dangerous early test, but the 49ers at least appear set to avoid one of the more annoying variables that can turn a September game in Santa Clara into something closer to a survival exercise. [Read more 🡒]
Fred Warner Said What 49ers Fans Were Feeling About Dre Greenlaw
The 49ers defense wasted no time reminding the rest of the NFC why it still draws so much attention in Santa Clara. In Week 1 against the Rams, San Francisco held Los Angeles under 10 points, and the middle of that effort looked familiar again with Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw back side by side on the field. Warner led the way with 11 tackles, while Greenlaw added six in his return after spending a year with the Denver Broncos.
For 49ers fans, the reunion carried a little extra weight because it brought back a pairing that has long been tied to the identity of this defense. Warner sounded as energized as the crowd felt about seeing Greenlaw back in the mix, and the early result suggested the comfort level between the two has not gone anywhere. The bigger question now is how quickly that revived linebacker duo can help San Francisco settle in as the season unfolds. [Read more 🡒]