49ers shake up NFL draft needs with Jordan Mason trade

The San Francisco 49ers on Saturday altered their list of needs in the 2025 NFL draft when they traded running back Jordan Mason to the Minnesota Vikings.

In our post-free agency look at the 49ers' NFL draft needs, running back was buried at No. 7 on the list of eight positions. It was a spot San Francisco needed depth, but there wasn't any particular urgency to find help because the club already had Mason, Christian McCaffrey, Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor on the roster.

Mason getting dealt launches RB all the way up to No. 4 on the list, eclipsing linebacker, tight end and wide receiver. Offensive line, defensive line and cornerback remain bigger needs.

From a positional value standpoint there's an argument to be made that RB should stay near the bottom of the list. When the 49ers select a running back matters less than the club simply bringing in a player they think has a chance to be a starting-caliber pro as a rookie. After all, Mason was an undrafted player who eventually became a starter for San Francisco.

Increased depth is going to be key now with Mason gone.

McCaffrey is a major injury question mark after missing the first eight games last season with Achilles tendinitis. He played in only four games before suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 13. While those injuries aren't expected to limit him in the offseason, they're enough to make his availability a question for the 49ers in 2025.

Guerendo also had injury issues last season after dealing with a slew of injury problems in college.

When Mason was on the roster it was a third player capable of handling a starter's workload, with Patrick Taylor III working as the fourth RB who also showed in the 2024 season finale he could be a productive player for San Francisco. Taylor is now the third option.

There needs to be a fourth RB, and it's imperative the 49ers find a player through the draft that they believe in. It's a scary proposition given recent failures at the position. Tyrion Davis-Price and Trey Sermon were both third-round picks who didn't last two seasons on the 49ers roster before being let go. Former fourth-round pick Joe Williams was another mid-round RB flop.

Perhaps the player they find is undrafted like Mason. Given the uptick in urgency to add depth in the backfield, however, this is now a position San Francisco should be looking hard at in the early rounds instead of waiting for Day 3 or the undrafted player pool.

Doing so may save them from a lurking health problem at a key offensive position.

This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers shake up NFL draft needs with Jordan Mason trade

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