“A Star is Born”: Jordan Mason and the 49ers’ Offensive Line
How Jordan Mason and the O-line could shape the 2024-25 season.
Joe Buck perfectly (and surprisingly) captured the moment: “A star is born,” he said as the camera panned to Jordan Mason, ready to give his Monday Night Football post-game interview.
He was the star of the show as the San Francisco opened up the season at home in a dominating win against the New York Jets. With All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey shockingly sidelined with a calf injury, the third-year running back out of Georgia Tech took full advantage of his opportunity, rushing for 147 yards on 28 carries - an impressive right around 5.25 yards per carry.
This output equaled nearly 70% of all the rushing yards he had last season. So, what changed for Jordan?
Jordan Mason's Monday Night
The obvious thing to point out here is opportunity. When running back Elijah Mitchell was ruled out for the season a few weeks ago, Mason moved up the depth chart to RB2. Even last year, when the two backups shared the load behind McCaffrey, parts of the Niners' media and fanbase called for an increase in Mason's touches.
Anyone who watched the tape over the past two years could see that Mason runs with the decisiveness and aggression that flourishes under the Shanahan system (i.e. Elijah Mitchell in the 2021-22 season). It's been his questionable blocking in pass protection and the dominance of CMC that has kept him off the field. Can Mason break out of the dog house in year 3, similar to Brandon Aiyuk, and have a breakout season? If tonight is any indicator, it certainly seems so.
While talking about Elijah Mitchell, it is hard to ignore the similarities between his running style in his rookie year and what we saw from Jordan Mason on Monday. Jordan, like Elijah, trusted the first area that his eyes found and just attacked the gap with no hesitation.
There was a lot of space throughout the game, behind the strong play of the Niners’ offensive line. Yes, you read that correctly. The strong play of the 49er’s offensive line.
Offensive Line
The 49er's offensive line has been the one area of the utmost concern during the Shanahan regime. Many people have criticized the Niners' front office for not investing enough resources in their O-line compared to other contenders, with some arguing that the offensive line was the biggest reason the Niners lost last year’s Superbowl. Fans can painfully remember one of their guards completely missing their assignment in a 3rd and short situation near the endzone, leaving the Niners to end up with a field goal and never see the ball again.
Enter right guard Dominik Puni. All off-season members of the 49ers' front office sang the praises about their third-round rookie right guard and how he would be ready to start the season opener. There were even flashes during training camp and the preseason. Well in the Week 1 win, we got to see Puni on full display. Per Nick Wagoner, Puni had a run block win rate of 82.1%. Additionally, he had a 79.1 PFF1 grade last night which is good for 11th among all guards in week 1. Both are very impressive for a debut performance.
We saw a noticeable improvement in the Niners’ rushing game up the right side, a stark contrast to last season’s infrequent success in that area. Last year, it felt at times, that the Niners only found success running toward the left side, behind Trent Williams. On Monday night, they didn’t seem so limited with Mason finding gaps all around the offensive line. Puni mentioned in his post-game interview that he “love(s) running the ball.” Everything up to this point indicates the 49ers have found a gem in their third round pick.
Trent Williams also showed no rust last night. Out of 33 pass-blocking snaps, he allowed pressure on a total of 0 snaps. He got his money and came to play.
It is only one game, but if this Niners unit keeps up this level of play, it will be very hard to find an area of weakness on this team, especially when Christian McCaffrey returns.
https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/dominick-puni/163815
What an amazing read! The first few lines were pure poetry and instilled a sense of passion and respect for the up and coming young running back from San Francisco, Jordan Mason! As well as great analysis of the changes the niners have gone through in their offensive line to support such success. I look forward to reading more amazing posts from Karanveer and Chris. Cheers! #FTTB