SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Patience, patience, patience.
That’s a tough ask for any young running back, especially one whose game is built on track-star speed. Yet it’s the key to the San Francisco 49ers’ zone-running offense and is a word ultra-demanding position coach Bobby Turner is constantly emphasizing to his pupils.
“He would tell us all the time, especially when he was dealing with me and Matt (Breida), ‘Look, slow down and be patient and then hit it hard. Then use your speed,’” Raheem Mostert said in a phone interview this week from Miami Dolphins headquarters.
Mostert hasn’t been a 49er since 2021. But his stint as a starter, especially a 2020 playoff win against Green Bay in which he ran for 220 yards and had Packers defenders chasing his shadow, may have been the apex for a Turner-coached running back in San Francisco.
Turner still uses Mostert as a model in film sessions. And his fondness for Mostert was evident when the 49ers drafted Isaac Guerendo, a tailback with plenty of Mostert-like characteristics, in the fourth round in April. Guerendo even wears the same number, 31, Mostert wore for the 49ers.
Both were high school track stars. Both entered college as wide receivers before moving to running back. And both aced their pre-draft 40-yard dashes. Mostert ran 4.38 seconds at Purdue’s pro day. Guerendo was clocked at 4.33 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine in February.
“The more I watch his tape, the more I’m like, ‘Wow, I really do admire his game,’” Guerendo said Thursday. “And I feel we are very comparable. They always talk about how he’s a little bit faster. Bobby T always uses ‘eyelash faster.’ But he’s a great player and definitely a great dude to model my game after.”
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Another similarity: The two speedy running backs often show up on their respective injury reports. Guerendo, for example, entered last week’s game against the Los Angeles Rams with a foot injury and emerged with a hamstring strain that threatens to keep him out of Sunday’s game in Miami. If that’s the case, Patrick Taylor Jr. will make his first NFL start.
Mostert is not on the Dolphins injury report this week and is expected to back up De’Von Achane as usual on Sunday.
Asked about Guerendo and the challenges of learning the 49ers’ system — and satisfying Turner — Mostert noted it took at least two seasons until he was truly comfortable running the outside zone. And he knows exactly what Turner is preaching to Guerendo in the running backs room.
Though the 49ers coveted his speed, they didn’t want Mostert at full gallop all the time. Turner wanted him to regulate it. The goal is to find a balance between putting stress on defenders and allowing tight end George Kittle and the offensive linemen to get in position to create a run lane. It’s when that lane starts to materialize that you kick into the extra gear.
“It’s definitely tricky,” Mostert said. “But then when you’re at that point where you can hit it, though, it’s nice.”
Early on, Guerendo didn’t have the timing or patience.
“When he was doing it at first, he would cut way too early and everyone would fall off and he’d get smoked by the D-line,” Kittle said. “And I’d say, ‘Hey, man, that’s on you. You’ve got to stretch it.’”
Still, one of the results of Christian McCaffrey’s injury-filled season and Jordan Mason’s recent high ankle sprain is that Guerendo has taken a lot of snaps and his learning curve has accelerated.
Mostert said he was watching Guerendo — his No. 31 jersey caught his eye — during the rookie’s breakout game in Seattle on Oct. 10. He rushed for 99 yards that night and would have scored his first NFL touchdown in the closing minutes if he hadn’t slid just before the goal line at the end of a long run.
“He looks like he’s got some speed,” Mostert said. “Especially when he got away down the sideline against the Seahawks.”
ISAAC GUERENDO. 76-YARD RUN TO START THE DRIVE.#SFvsSEA on Prime Video
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/Pt3BWP6JEF— NFL (@NFL) October 11, 2024
When training camp started, Guerendo didn’t seem all that fast. But as he’s grown more comfortable with the offense, his speed has become apparent. His 76-yard run against the Seahawks showed it. So did a 30-yarder earlier this month against the Chicago Bears in which safety Kevin Byard III thought he had Guerendo lined up only to see the running back dash past him and then down the sideline.
It may have been the most Mostert-like run of Guerendo’s brief career and underscored why the 49ers are optimistic about him heading into next season.
One difference between the two No. 31s is that while Mostert entered the NFL at under 200 pounds, Guerendo weighs 223 pounds. He said defenders sometimes see his size, think he’s more plodding than he actually is and misjudge his velocity.
The 49ers also say there’s a difference in their speeds. Turner puts it politely, saying that when Mostert was a 49er, he was an “eyelash” or “blink” faster.
Kittle said it’s not close. At least not yet.
“Without any disrespect to Isaac, Raheem is the fastest running back I’ve ever blocked for in my life,” he said. “You could go back and watch Raheem’s tape, and he would get (going laterally) so fast that linebackers would just turn and run. They wouldn’t even look for him. They would just try to beat him to the sideline. And then he would just put his foot in the ground and cut upfield at 4.2 speed, which is crazy. And then he’d be gone.”
(Top photo of Isaac Guerendo: Cary Edmondson / Imagn Images)
