Kaelon Black Is the Waiver Add Shanahan Created

Kaelon Black carried 14 times for 65 yards in San Francisco’s 27-7 win over the Rams in Melbourne, four more handoffs than Christian McCaffrey. He is rostered in 15% of ESPN leagues, and Week 2 waivers close around him.

The box score looks like a rookie spike. The tape, the snap chart and six months of Kyle Shanahan comments say it is a coaching choice McCaffrey has already said he does not want.

Black Out-Carried McCaffrey in a 27-7 Blowout

Thursday’s opener at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was San Francisco’s first look at a two-back plan the club talked about all spring. Black, the third-round pick from Indiana, took 14 carries for 65 yards and caught his only target for 5 yards. McCaffrey ran 10 times for 68 yards and caught 5 passes for 20 yards on 8 targets.

They tied at 15 touches. Black led the backfield in carries. McCaffrey led it in receiving work, which is the split Shanahan has described when he talks about saving his starter for the plays nobody else can run.

MELBOURNE BACKFIELD, WEEK 1

The 49ers ran 64 offensive plays. Black’s 44% share is the highest for a San Francisco running back other than McCaffrey in a game since the trade in 2022. PFF had McCaffrey at 83% of snaps last season. He was on the field for 55% in Australia.

It did not wait for garbage time. Black led 7-3 in first-half carries, with 36 yards to McCaffrey’s 17, before the Rams were put away. San Francisco finished with 174 rushing yards as a team. Brock Purdy went 25 of 34 for 205 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception and was not sacked.

WHAT WE KNOW

• The first-half split: Black out-carried McCaffrey 7-3 before the game was a rout, so the work was not only kneel-down duty.
• The depth chart: 49ers reporter Matt Maiocco said Jordan James was a healthy inactive, which left Black as the only true complement.
• The draft bet: Shanahan said on the Rich Eisen Show that San Francisco had Black rated as the No. 2 running back on its board, then took him 90th overall.

WHAT IS UNCONFIRMED

• Cramps: Shanahan said McCaffrey played through cramps, which may have padded Black’s second-half work.
• Travel and score: A Thursday game in Australia that ended 27-7 is a thin sample for a season-long committee.
• Week 2: Whether the 14-10 handoff split repeats against Miami on Sunday is the open question.

Last year’s backup, Brian Robinson Jr., never had more than 9 carries in a game. Black cleared that number in his first start as the No. 2. That is the fact the waiver wire is pricing.

Shanahan Has Been Asking for This Split

McCaffrey is 30. He took 413 regular-season touches in 2025, and 450 when the playoffs are counted. Shanahan spent the spring saying that volume was the problem, even if the player wanted every snap.

I want him to have more juice. He doesn’t have to take that beating when it’s unnecessary. I’m hoping we can have some other guys step up more this year so you don’t feel like you need him on the field every play.

Kyle Shanahan, 49ers head coach, May 2026

McCaffrey answered the same week. He compared a planned touch count to telling a shooter he only gets five threes, and he made clear he would not volunteer to come off the field.

Look, nobody ever wants to hear that you’re going to get the ball less. I don’t get mad or sad or whatever. I just train and prepare to have 35 touches a game and not come out.

Christian McCaffrey, 49ers running back, May 2026

The 49ers then signed Black to a four-year, $6.83 million deal after taking him in the third round. The roster lists him at 5-foot-10 and 208 pounds, No. 26, a 24-year-old from Indiana. He was not invited to the scouting combine. He was the only running back San Francisco selected on Day 2.

Former quarterback Kurt Benkert said after talking to Black in May that he looked like a fit for Shanahan’s run game, a 1-2 punch with McCaffrey. Melbourne was the first game in which that punch showed up in the carry column. McCaffrey still averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Black averaged 4.6. The starter was more explosive on fewer runs, which is the point Shanahan has been making.

Why Christian McCaffrey’s Owners Have to Pay

If you roster McCaffrey, Black is not a luxury flex for Sunday. He is the only player on the 53 who has already shown he can take a starter’s early-down job without James dressed. Fantasy analyst Eric Karabell put that insurance at 15 to 20 percent of a FAAB budget for McCaffrey managers, and that is the bid that matches the role.

Managers who do not have McCaffrey are bidding on a different thing: standalone Week 2 points against Miami. That is a thinner case. Black ran 13 routes and caught 1 pass. McCaffrey still owned third down (10 snaps to 2) and the work inside the 10-yard line (4 snaps to 2). A 15-touch game in a blowout is not an RB1 projection.

49ers writer David Lombardi noted after Monday night that San Francisco’s two-back pound, McCaffrey plus Black, looked like the same formula Kansas City used to run at Denver. Two runners forcing the same defensive fit is harder to solve than one workhorse. That helps the committee stick. It also caps Black’s receiving ceiling while McCaffrey is healthy.

The people who spent a last-round pick on Black in August are not geniuses. They are just not paying a waiver tax for a role the 49ers already announced. If he is still free in your league, the league is late, not deep.

Jalen Coker Already Played Like Carolina’s 1A

Matt Okada’s NFL.com waiver board, which uses Next Gen Stats and ESPN roster rates and only lists players under 60%, still has Carolina wide receiver Jalen Coker first overall. Black is second. The order is right if you need a starter this week. Coker already produced like one.

He caught eight catches for 138 yards and 2 touchdowns on 9 targets in a 59-37 loss to Chicago, including a 51-yard score. The Panthers’ recap listed career highs in catches and yards and two scores, his second regular-season 100-yard game. He played 57 of 68 offensive snaps, 84%, one snap more than Tetairoa McMillan.

Bryce Young threw for 361 yards and 3 touchdowns and ran for another, 31.44 fantasy points, in a game Chicago turned into a track meet. Coker had four touchdowns in his final six games last season, playoffs included, so the usage was not a one-off cameo. He is still on 51% of ESPN rosters. Carolina visits Atlanta at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Chuba Hubbard, the Panthers’ captain, called Coker selfless and said he works his tail off. The catch is the scoreboard. Carolina allowed 59 points, a franchise record, and 291 rushing yards. Young will have to throw again. That is the entire Coker argument, and it is cleaner than Black’s if you need a WR2 this weekend.

Mayer, Vele and the Injury Queue

The rest of the board is injury math. Las Vegas tight end Michael Mayer caught 6 passes on a team-high 7 targets with Brock Bowers out after a meniscus trim. Mayer signed a three-year, $45 million deal in the same week and is still on only 30% of ESPN rosters. He is the tight end add if Bowers misses more time, and he may keep a role when Bowers returns because the Raiders’ receiver room is thin.

New Orleans wide receiver Devaughn Vele caught 7 of 9 targets for 69 yards and a goal-line touchdown with rookie Jordyn Tyson expected to miss two months with a hamstring injury. Vele is on 13% of ESPN rosters and will be Tyler Shough’s WR2 into October. Shough himself threw for 410 yards and 3 scores on 56 attempts, a volume streamer if he is still sitting out there.

OKADA WEEK 2 PRIORITY BOARD

Arizona’s Tyler Allgeier took 17 carries to Jeremiyah Love’s 11 and led the Cardinals with 61 rushing yards in the upset of the Chargers. He is the other running back worth a real bid, because Love’s ankle was already a preseason problem. Miami’s Caleb Douglas ran 31 routes, saw 7 targets and caught 5 for 94 yards. He is the cheap receiver if you are fading Coker’s 51% rate and still need a flyer.

Baker Mayfield sits at 59%, just inside Okada’s cutoff. He completed 82.1% of 28 passes for 216 yards, ran for a score, and lost 3 fumbles against Cincinnati. Tampa Bay hosts Cleveland. Mayfield is a streamer, not a season hold, unless your quarterback room is already broken.

Deebo Samuel is over the 60% line at 68%, so he is off the board, but De’Zhaun Stribling’s ankle is expected to cost him at least a month. Samuel caught 6 of 7 for 48 yards and a touchdown in Melbourne. If he is free, he is a better Week 2 starter than Douglas.

How Much of Your FAAB Black Should Cost

A player under 65% CBS roster share was the cutoff in the original waiver notes, and Black clears that on every major platform tracked here. The bid still has to match the job you think you are buying.

WEEK 2 BID ORDER

• McCaffrey on your roster: Spend the 15 to 20 percent Karabell cited. You are buying the handcuff, not a flex.
• Need a WR now: Coker first, then Vele. Coker’s 84% snap share is the role. Vele’s is a two-month window.
• Need a TE: Mayer. Six catches on seven targets with Bowers in a brace is enough.
• Need an RB without CMC: Allgeier before a max bid on Black. Love’s ankle is the clearer path to early-season volume.
• Streaming a QB: Mayfield vs. Cleveland, with Young (11% rostered, 361 yards) as the cheaper dart.

Yahoo Fantasy posted the Melbourne split on Friday and still had Black free in 74% of its leagues. That gap will not last through Wednesday night’s claims.

49ers rookie RB Kaelon Black:

· Played 44% of snaps with CMC healthy
· Out-carried CMC 14-10
· Averaged 4.6 yards per carry
· Most valuable handcuff in fantasy if CMC goes down

And he's available in 74% of Yahoo leagues. pic.twitter.com/EHkoW4CcpO

— Yahoo Fantasy Sports (@YahooFantasy) September 11, 2026

Spending a third of the budget to start Black against Miami is the mistake the board is inviting. The Dolphins ranked 29th in blended fantasy points allowed to running backs in the data set one start/sit desk used, which is a real matchup. It is not a reason to treat 14 carries in a 27-7 game as a new feature back. Save the big chip for the McCaffrey owner’s insurance, or for Coker if he is the one still sitting there at 51%.

San Francisco Hosts Miami at 4:25 p.m. Sunday

Week 2 is at Levi’s Stadium, not in Australia, and it is not a Thursday. McCaffrey will have a normal week of practice. If Shanahan still hands Black double-digit carries while the starter is healthy, the committee is the plan. If McCaffrey climbs back toward 18 or 20 touches, Melbourne was travel, cramps and a lead.

Black will be rostered in far more than 15% of leagues by kickoff either way. The managers who get him cheap are the ones who heard Shanahan in May and believed him. The rest are bidding on a box score they could have seen coming when the 49ers spent a third-round pick on the back they had rated second on the board.

San Francisco and Miami kick off at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 20.