Anthony

Dixon

Dixon was the only other 49er back to get a carry, as Kendall Hunter’s only impact was a big 43-yard kick return. Frank Gore is clearly the bell-cow in San Fran, and it remains unclear as to who would see a majority of the carries if he ever goes down to an injury.

“I don’t know, man,” Gore said. “I really don’t know. If I can’t go, I can’t go.” According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the 49ers believe they will have Gore in “some type of limited role” against the Eagles, leaving Kendall Hunter with extra snaps. Despite a limited practice on Wednesday, Gore’s status remains up in the air for Week 4. Even in an attractive matchup, he’s a high-risk fantasy play if he ends up getting the green light.

“Yeah, that was disappointing,” Dixon said. “It definitely threw my attitude off a little bit.” With Frank Gore nursing an ankle injury, Dixon was expected to see some carries, but ended up playing zero offensive snaps. A distant third on the depth chart behind Gore and rookie Kendall Hunter, Dixon is a poor own in dynasty leagues.

Dixon fell behind rookie Kendall Hunter in 2011 and spent the season as San Francisco’s little-used third-string back. Maicco expects the Niners to draft another running back in the mid to late rounds, putting heat on Dixon. If Dixon loses out to another rookie, he could be traded or waived around final cuts.

It’s a polite way of saying Dixon is probably on the way out. Maiocco is the 49ers’ top beat writer, and thought Dixon’s roster spot was up in the air even before San Francisco signed Brandon Jacobs and drafted LaMichael James. The odds are extremely low Dixon cracks the 49ers’ 53.

Jacobs is joining Randy Moss and former Giants teammate Mario Manningham as offensive additions in San Francisco. The 49ers will remain a run-dominant offense, with Jacobs perhaps handling the majority of the short-yardage and goal-line work, putting a dent in Frank Gore’s fantasy value. Should Gore miss time, though, the more explosive Kendall Hunter would remain the back to own. Anthony Dixon appears to be the odd man out of the backfield picture.

We had already dumped Dixon, owner of a per-carry average of 3.3 in two years, even in deep Dynasty leagues. The 49ers will ditch him next. While we remain high on Hunter’s ability, his Dynasty value is capped by the coaching staff’s view that he’s a complementary back as a opposed to a lead runner.

Frank Gore led the way with 70.0 percent of the offensive snaps, followed by Hunter at 28.1 percent and Dixon at 5.1 percent. Even if Harbaugh continues to trot Dixon out for the occasional goal-line carry, it’s clear that Hunter is top backup and likely the successor to Gore.

“I would plan on (Gore) playing, but you just feel like right now that we’ve got a stable of backs,” Harbaugh said. With the Niners at 8-1 and a Thursday game against the Ravens looming in Week 12, it would make some sense to use Kendall Hunter plenty this week, especially if San Francisco grabs an early lead versus Arizona. Hunter is averaging nearly five yards a carry. Anthony Dixon also came off the bench last week for 10 yards on two runs.

Dixon’s official snap count was five, but three of those came out of the “victory formation.” Meanwhile, Kendall Hunter played 25 snaps. This confirms that if Gore were to ever sit, Hunter would have the feature back job to himself.