Who Should I Start? Jordan Mason or Zach Charbonnet

Monday, January 8, 1:46 PM

San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason had the opportunity for a big workload in a Week 18 regular season finale against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in a game in which the Niners were resting plenty of players with a first-round bye in the playoffs already locked up. However, Elijah Mitchell led the team with 14 carries for 52 yards and a touchdown, while Mason had only six rushing attempts and gained 36 yards on the ground. He added one catch for a 12-yard pickup. Mason wraps up his second regular season in the NFL with 40 rushing attempts for 206 yards and three touchdowns in 17 games, adding three receptions for 31 yards. The 24-year-old mostly played special teams in 2023 while serving as the No. 3 behind Christian McCaffrey and Mitchell, which will likely continue when the team resumes play in the Divisional Round in two weeks.

Monday, January 8, 4:53 AM

Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet had his most productive game in weeks in Sunday's win over the Arizona Cardinals. The rookie took five rushing attempts 32 yards and caught both of his targets for 28 receiving yards. His receptions late in the fourth quarter advanced the Seahawks into Cardinals' territory, setting up Geno Smith's 34-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Lockett. The selection of Charbonnet in the second round of the 2023 draft sparked a debate that he might contend for the starting role but he was firmly in the backseat behind second-year running back Kenneth Walker III. It will be hard to predict what the depth chart will look like in 2024, but Charbonnet can be expected to hang on to his role as the passing down back at the least. Charbonnet's first season ends with 462 rushing yards and one touchdown gained on 108 carries and 209 receiving yards on 33 catches.