It’s early, but the 49ers have a top-10 running back, by the numbers.
Entering the Week 6 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, Jeff Wilson Jr. ranks eighth in the NFL with his 375 rushing yards. Wilson joined 95.7 The Game’s “Damon & Ratto” to discuss his start to the season and what it takes to play tailback for coach Kyle Shanahan, who he called a "genius."
“I believe you gotta have the mindset here,” Wilson told hosts Damon Bruce and John Dickinson, filling in for Ray Ratto. “If you don’t have the mindset, you won’t be a running back for the 49ers. That’s first things first. Kyle, he’s a guru, man. He gets people one-on-one just like in the passing game, and he does the same thing in the running game. That blows my mind. … It’s a blessing to be here, it’s a blessing to be coached by him and it’s a blessing to play for him.”
Wilson also made sure to shoutout quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
"He's one of the greatest quarterbacks in this game right now," Wilson said. "He doesn't get enough respect, he doesn't get enough credit. ... "I wish I could just change it all for him because he's a great dude and a great quarterback."
While the 49ers recently promoted Tevin Coleman to the active roster after his two-touchdown performance against the Carolina Panthers, Wilson doesn’t sound threatened by his presence. Quite the opposite, in fact.
“Tev – that’s my big brother,” Coleman said. “Obviously, he was with the team already. When I came, he took me under his wing and treated me as that, like I was little his little brother. I’ll always have love for him. There won’t be a time that we won’t talk for the rest of our lives.”
Until Elijah Mitchell (MCL sprain) returns in a few weeks, Wilson figures to continue being the team's bellcow in the backfield.
The 49ers are 3-2 atop a not-so-scary NFC West division and Wilson said the franchise is chasing its sixth Lombardi trophy.
“We definitely feel, whether it’s a fact or not, we’re supposed to have two rings right now,” Wilson said. “That’s how we look at things. We know what type of team we have, we know what kinda players we got. Yeah, we got some changes, but overall, it’s pretty much still the same. All of those guys are hungry.”
