The 49ers under Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch have a history of developing late or undrafted running backs into starting-caliber players.
Jeff Wilson Jr. might be the best example of that. San Francisco signed him in 2018 out of North Texas and got consistent production out of him in multiple seasons. His 2019 campaign was an extremely effective one, when he put up a combined 11 touchdowns on 139 touches.
He’s had an excellent year thus far, with 468 rush yards and 91 receiving yards over eight games. He’s on pace to break both his single-season bests in rushing and receiving.
But having acquired Christian McCaffrey for 2nd, 3rd, 4th (2023) and 5th-round (2024) picks, and with Elijah Mitchell likely to return after the 49ers’ bye week, Wilson Jr. became surplus to requirements.
The 49ers dealt Wilson Jr. to the Miami Dolphins — who have familiar faces in the likes of head coach Mike McDaniel, receivers coach Wes Welker, running back Raheem Mostert and receiver Trent Sherfield — for a 2023 fifth-round pick.
John Lynch joined Tolbert & Copes on Tuesday to dissect the trade. He admitted it was not an easy one, but that it was Wilson Jr.’s wish to be dealt, knowing that he’d soon be third in the pecking order and would be a free agent after the season.
“Jeff came to us when we executed the Christian deal. And Jeff’s having a career year,” Lynch said. “And he said, ‘Look, you guys know how much I love this place, but I also know Elijah is likely to be coming back soon and what are gonna be my opportunities? I know you guys like me, but man, if you guys could get me to a place where I could be a featured guy, I would love that.’”
Lynch saw it both ways.
He said he told Wilson that he and the team loves him and respected those wishes, but that they wouldn’t trade him for nothing.
To everyone’s benefit, the Dolphins came in with a late offer that matched what the 49ers wanted.
“We’re going to set a price and if we get that, we’ll consider it,” Lynch said. “And we’ll try to do right by you and get you to a great place. The Miami thing came in late and I think they didn’t inform us, but they had another thing brewing with getting rid of Chase Edmonds, so I think they felt like they needed him.
“We thought a fifth-round pick for a running back who’s got eight games left on his contract was a really good deal for us, despite the way Jeff’s playing.”
But that’s where the emotions come in.
Kyle Shanahan has long expressed his admiration for Wilson Jr., who has an infectious positivity in the locker room, but also plays with an obvious fearlessness and aggression.
Lynch recounted the phone call, saying Wilson Jr. was excited to get to reunite with familiar faces in Miami, before the emotions hit him.
As I told him; I called him, it was a little awkward. He was taking off for the bye and you could hear the pilot in the background. And I said, ‘Buddy, you might need to get off that plane, because you need to get to Miami.’
And I think Jeff, at first, was excited with Mike McDaniel, Welker, Raheem’s there. But then the emotion of leaving here [set in]. This is the only place he knows in the NFL. Jeff’s a special human being. He’s a guy who lifts our locker room. He’s always got a smile on his face despite going through some tough things with injuries and such.
And as I told him, he’s not only one of my favorite players, he’s one of my favorite people on this Earth. So, it was emotional. It was a tough day because of that, but I think we did right by Jeff and we did right by our organization by getting good value and getting a pick back which was important with all we gave up for Christian.”
The trade means the Dolphins’ lead backfield is Mostert and Wilson Jr. under McDaniel. It’s 2019 all over again down there.
And for the 49ers, there’s depth behind McCaffrey and Mitchell when the latter returns. Rookies Ty Davis-Price and Jordan Mason are on the roster, with veteran Tevin Coleman still on the practice squad.
Listen to the full interview below. You can listen to every KNBR interview on our podcast page at knbr.com/podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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