49ers' Elijah Mitchell: Could lead Week 18 ground attack

Mitchell profiles as the next man up to lead the San Francisco backfield in Sunday's game against the Rams with Christian McCaffrey (calf) having been ruled out for Week 18, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports.

Though head coach Kyle Shanahan has classified the injury McCaffrey suffered in the Week 17 win over the Commanders as a "mild" right calf strain, the 49ers won't take any chances with their star tailback in a regular-season finale that has no implications with San Francisco having already clinched a first-round bye and homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. Mitchell is thus in the line to draw the Week 18 start, though given his own history of knee concerns, he may not necessarily handle the near-every-down, high-volume role out of the backfield that McCaffrey typically takes on. To that end, Matt Barrows of The Athletic suggests that Jordan Mason -- and perhaps even practice-squad member Tyrion Davis-Price -- could see heavy workloads Week 18, meaning that Mitchell may not represent as appealing of a DFS option as he may seem on the surface if the 49ers elect to be cautious with his usage.