Elijah Mitchell had three catches for 50 yards in the San Francisco 49ers' NFC Championship Game loss to the Los Angeles Rams. It sounds like the running back wants to make that a regular occurrence moving forward.
Mitchell proved to be a reliable featured back during his rookie campaign. The 49ers already have one hybrid player, a wide receiver that threatens as a running back, in Deebo Samuel. Mitchell hopes to do something similar—become a running back who can hurt opposing defenses as a downfield receiving threat.
On Thursday, Mitchell joined KNBR and shared what he plans to work on this offseason to prove his best efforts are yet to come.
"I definitely want to improve on making guys miss in the open field. That's one thing," Mitchell told Greg Papa and John Lund. "And also, being able to not just be in the backfield, [but] trying to line up out wide, being a receiver. So this offseason, that's one thing I'm going to be working on, running routes and stuff."
Imagine you're an NFL defensive coordinator and you see Samuel line up in the backfield and Mitchell lining up on the outside at the line of scrimmage—that seems like a matchup nightmare. Currently, there's no indication that is the plan, and Mitchell can still be a receiving threat coming out of the backfield. However, the thought has to be intriguing for head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Mitchell is in the 49ers record books. He rushed for more yards—963—than any rookie in franchise history. He did so in 11 games, which is even more impressive.
Mitchell dealt with several setbacks in 2021, including shoulder, rib, finger, and knee injuries. He even suffered a concussion. The running back plans to use the offseason to get completely healthy, probably something he hasn't been for a while.
"Really, I'm going to heal up and stuff," Mitchell said. "Just start building back up my body and stuff. Hitting the weights hard, conditioning, and just getting ready to see what 2022 has in store for me."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Mitchell below.