49ers out-of-nowhere superstar has chance to set franchise record

The San Francisco 49ers have had some outstanding running backs roll through their organization. Undrafted third-year running back Jordan Mason is on the verge of doing something none of those great RBs have done.

Mason closed out the 49ers’ Week 4 over the New England Patriots with a 25-yard run. That put him at 123 yards for the day, marking his third 100-yard game in four contests. He had 147 yards in the season opener vs. the New York Jets, then 100 in Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings.

By eclipsing the 100-yard mark in Week 4, he tied the 49ers franchise record for most 100-yard games in the first five games of a season. With the fifth game coming up Sunday vs. the Arizona Cardinals, he could become the first 49ers player with four 100-yard rushing games in the team’s first five contests.

Christian McCaffrey did it three times last season. He was the first to do that since Billy Kilmer in 1961. Joe Perry was the first 49er to have 100-plus rushing yards in the first five games, doing so in 1953.

There’s another layer of this for Mason, though.

The 2022 undrafted free agent can match Steelers RB Willie Parker for the most 100-yard rushing games in the first five games of a season by an undrafted player.

While the success through five games is fun, the 49ers have goals well beyond the first third of the season. The bigger deal will be whether Mason can keep up his success with such a massive workload. If they wind up needing him to start for the entire season, it may be worth sacrificing some stats in the name of keeping him healthy.