Jordan Mason wasn't exactly a household name across the NFL before Monday night's game between the San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets, but if the performance he put on in front of a prime time audience came as a surprise to viewers who may not have previously known much about him, the teammates that have been watching him work and persevere throughout his three years in the league felt exactly the opposite.
Mason overcame long odds to get to where he was on Monday night, making the 49ers as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Georgia Tech in 2022 and sticking with the team as a backup for two seasons before eventually elevating to the No. 2 role behind reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey over the 2024 offseason. With McCaffrey battling a calf and Achilles injury, Mason was given the start against the Jets and delivered a career game with 28 carries, 147 yards and one touchdown in a 32-19 victory.
"JP was awesome today," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said to reporters following the game.
It was a magical night for Mason, who had more carries and yards on Monday night than he did in any game since high school and had his family in attendance to watch his breakout performance. McCaffrey was widely expected to play against the Jets after missing the preseason due to his injury, but Mason was more than ready to step in after filling McCaffrey's role in practice over the past few weeks.
"I was always prepared. I was RB1 in training camp, so just being prepared from there," Mason told ESPN after the game.
Mason's performance was exactly what 49ers left tackle Trent Williams expected after speaking with him before the game. Williams told reporters Monday night he talked with Mason after finding out McCaffrey wasn't getting the start, and what Mason showed him in return led Williams to believe a big performance was on the way.
"I went up to him and just gave him a little pep talk, see where he was, and he was laser focused, ready to go," Williams said. "And I knew from that point on, I ain't have to worry about it. I knew he was going to have a great game. I knew it. So I'm glad he proved me right."
The road to success with the 49ers wasn't always a smooth one for Mason, who on his own admission butted heads early on in his career with 49ers running backs coach Bobby Turner ("I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that we started off on a downhill [path]," Mason said in August). But Mason and Turner eventually got on the same page, and from there Mason learned from some of the best on what he needed to do to build a lasting career in the NFL.
"Jordan's always had a ton of confidence since the first day he got here," Shanahan said. "I think the most part is getting used to Bobby coaching him, realizing that he's not always angry. He just kind of stays that way and kind of learned to appreciate it.
"And I think Jordan's really pushed himself each year of just the way he's worked off the field, being more conditioned. He's never been badly conditioned, but we got some guys in our building, like Christian, guys like Fred [linebacker Fred Warner], Juice [fullback Kyle Juszczyk], George [tight end George Kittle], guys who are very obsessive with how they work out, how they condition themselves, how they eat, how they sleep. And I think that stuff's really rubbed off on JP over the years."
Mason's success on Monday night also came as a pleasure for quarterback Brock Purdy, who came into the NFL together with Mason and worked with him as the two of them overcame similar long odds.
"Just coming in, rookie year, trying to learn the playbook together, he and I would meet a lot and go through everything," Purdy said Monday. "So he's always had that drive to learn and knowing that we were guys, that I was the last pick and he was undrafted and knowing that we weren't going to have a lot of opportunities and we had to make the most of the opportunities that we got.
"So he knew that and we both did. And so to see him over the last two years, you know, just push the envelope more and more every year and then get an op this year at camp and do well with it. And obviously in the first game of the season, he did great with it. So really, really excited for him. He's earned it, man. He's the kind of guy that was not given to him, and so to see him go out and do what he did tonight, man, I'm so happy for him and I know he's going to keep pushing."
Uncertainty still remains surrounding McCaffrey's injury heading into the 49ers' Week 2 game against the Minnesota Vikings next Sunday, so Mason may be called upon yet again to fill the starting role. Mason experienced a McCaffrey-like workload for the first time against the Jets and came away dazzled over how the star running back's ability to do so on a weekly basis.
"I told Christian 'I don't know how you do it, man.' It's a long game," Mason said to ESPN. "But it's just the beginning and we're going to see where we go from here."
There's no doubt that Mason will be ready on Sunday if called upon, however. And nobody should be surprised if he puts together an even bigger performance against the Vikings than he did against the Jets.
"The coolest thing for JP, that he was in such good shape going to camp that when a lot of guys go down and a guy's got to do a little bit more in practice, then the next thing you worry about is him going down," Shanahan said. "And if he wanted to come to camp in such good shape and so ready to go, it would have been hard for that not to wear him out. And he never fazed him at all. I mean, every day in practice he was the same as he's been in the past and carried it over to the games. And to me it looks like he always does."
