The San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins didn’t have much in common in 2019.
The 49ers, led by the second-best rushing offense in football, won the NFC Championship before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV.
The Dolphins, hindered by the worst rushing offense in football, finished 5-11 and secured a top-five draft pick.
But the 49ers and Dolphins came together this offseason and executed a trade that could even out their rushing offenses.
San Francisco sent running back Matt Breida to Miami in April for a fifth-round pick.
After a few weeks of the virtual offseason, Breida is already starting to see the potential of his new team.
“We’re all coming in there willing to compete, willing to make each other better,” Breida said on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football.” “That’s one thing that I learned quick in these virtual meetings with these is guys is that they’re eager to get better. That’s kinda how we were last year in the running back room in San Francisco and that’s gonna go a long way to help us get where we gotta get.”
Breida didn’t specifically say the Dolphins’ running game would be as good as the 49ers’ was, but this is a good sign.
Led by Breida, Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman, the 49ers had three rushers with over 500 yards last season. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick led the Dolphins with 243 rushing yards in 2019.
In addition to adding Breida, the Dolphins also signed running back Jordan Howard.
While the Dolphins likely won’t match the 49ers’ dominant 2019 unit, Breida and Howard should ensure that the Dolphins maintain a more respectable running game in 2020.
