Brandon

Wilds

Even with 49ers injuries to their running backs, Wilds couldn’t make the team after being signed earlier this month. The Niners will be heavily utilizing Tevin Coleman and Matt Breida with Jerick McKinnon (knee) sidelined.

Familiar with Kyle Shanahan’s offense from their time spent together in Atlanta in ’16, Wilds is a necessary get for the Niners with Jerick McKinnon (knee) and Jeffery Wilson (calf) still on the mend. San Francisco’s backfield is loaded (likely putting Wilds as the odd-man out when final cuts occur), but perhaps he can do just enough to showcase himself to another RB-needy team this preseason.

Wilds has been cut loose to make space for Jamaal Charles. Fantasy owners seeking a lifehack RB4/FLEX for Week 6 will need to look elsewhere.

It’s a sign Leonare Fournette (questionable, hamstring) will be held out this week. Wilds would be the No. 3 running back behind T.J. Yeldon and Corey Grant if Fournette sits.

Wilds positioned himself for Atlanta’s third back job before a late-camp knee injury cost him a roster spot altogether. The Falcons’ current No. 3 back behind Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman is plodder Terron Ward.

Wilds isn’t someone we usually write about—you’ll notice we’ve haven’t blurbed about him since the Falcons cut him at the end of training camp. But with New York’s backfield in complete disarray, even Wilds is worth monitoring. Brandon Burks, who was recently called up from the Jets’ practice squad, was the only healthy running back at Thursday’s practice. At this point, it seems like the Jets are competing with the Rams and Bills to see which team will finish the year as the biggest train wreck.

The Browns cleared a roster spot for him by dumping George Atkinson III. Wilds totaled 27 yards on 10 carries for the Jets as an undrafted rookie last year. The 24-year-old is just a camp body.

Wilds (6'1/220) was an injury-riddled rotational back for the Gamecocks, compiling 1,844 yards and 13 TDs on 379 career carries (4.87 YPC), also catching 59 passes. He followed up a pedestrian college career with monster pre-draft workouts, blazing 4.54 with a 36 1/2-inch vertical and 21 bench-press reps. A grinder back with more athleticism than he showed on college tape, Wilds struggles with balance, durability, and consistency, and lacks elusiveness as a stiff, straight-line runner. Despite his impressive Combine, Wilds is an NFL long shot.

Most of those players were already on the Jags’ practice quad. Wilds logged 10 carries for the Jets as a rookie in 2016 but didn’t see the field this past season.