Kaelon Black gets four carries in Week 3 win

After splitting work fairly evenly with Christian McCaffrey in Week 1, Black took a clearer backup role here. He had some snaps on the first drive of the game, but then Black mixed in sporadically until the game was decided early in the fourth quarter. At the end of the day, the rookie played on 16 of the team’s 45 snaps and is unlikely to have any standalone value; yet, he remains one of the better bench stashes in fantasy football.

It was reported earlier in the day that Black was expected to play, and now we get confirmation that he will. The rookie had 14 carries in his NFL debut in Week 1, and it remains to be seen if that will be the 49ers’ plan going forward or if that had something to do with Christian McCaffrey cramping or the entire team traveling abroad to Australia for the first game.

Black picked up 14 carries while Christian McCaffrey dealt with cramps in Week 1. Now it’s Black who is banged up, meaning we might get more CMC versus Miami this week. Black was added to the injury report midweek and logged two limited practices before receiving the questionable designation. He is in the RB4 range for Week 2, making him a middling FLEX play.

Black appeared on the 49ers’ injury report yesterday as a limited participant. He was seen practicing today during the portion of practice open to the media, but we do not know if he managed to practice in full. If so, that would be encouraging. The 49ers face the Dolphins’ unimposing defense this weekend. If Black is active, he can be started in FLEX spots, though ideally we get an update on his health beforehand.

Black gets tagged with the dreaded mid-week limited listing. Dang. The rookie running back was a helpful contributor in Week 1, elevating him to FLEX-starter status for the 49ers’ matchup against the Dolphins’ fantasy-friendly defense in Week 2. He is now in the questionable camp, though. Hopefully, he practices fully on Friday.

“The last time you could say that about a rookie tailback was 2021, when Elijah Mitchell got 19 carries in the season opener,” Barrows writes. We don’t know exactly how much Christian McCaffrey’s usage will be dialed back this year after playing just 55 percent of the snaps in Australia, but Black needs to be rostered in all leagues at this point even if he doesn’t retain stand-alone value. And he might just have some stand-alone value if things trend in this direction.

McCaffrey’s usage was a bit underwhelming in the first half of Thursday’s win. The 30-year-old running back played on 20 offensive snaps to Kaelon Black’s, while Black’s seven rush attempts more than doubled the three carries we saw from CMC, who also saw six first-half targets. McCaffrey’s second-half usage saw a slight uptick, but it’s possible some of what we saw as it pertains to last night’s split was related to this cramping issue. McCaffrey was undoubtedly the more efficient of the two Niners backs in last night’s win, but Black was solid in his debut, rushing 14 times for 65 yards. McCaffrey should be positioned for a big Week 2 game next week against the Dolphins.

It was Black’s NFL debut, and all things considered, it was a pretty good one. The former Indiana star had four more carries than Christian McCaffrey and was much more involved in the rushing attack in the first half, though CMC was obviously a factor in the passing attack and Black had just one catch for five yards. It wasn’t the most impressive statline you’ll see from a debut, but there were definitely flashes that suggest success for the 24-year-old. Black and the 49ers will get a chance to face the Dolphins in Week 2.

James has officially lost the backup job to rookie RB Kaelon Black, who should be safely stashed on fantasy benches before kickoff. The 49ers also declared QB Kurtis Rourke, CB Ephesians Prysock, WR Jordan Watkins, LB Tatum Bethune and OT Enrique Cruz inactive for Week 1 against the Rams.

Black had a nice run to the right side of the field before subbing out, which ultimately required him to spin over the top of the camera stand positioned awkwardly on the sideline. He seemingly escaped without injury and, most importantly, took 12-of-12 possible snaps on the first three drives. Black is the 49ers’ running back to stash on fantasy benches. Fellow RB Jordan James has recovered from the fractured rib he suffered late in July, but the time he missed in August has him behind Black on the depth chart.