The Kansas City Chiefs added to their backfield on Friday night by signing veteran tailback Jerick McKinnon.
Here are five things to know about the newest member of the squad.
1. McKinnon tallied 572 yards from scrimmage for San Francisco in 2020.
The five-foot-nine, 205-pound McKinnon appeared in all 16 games (4 starts) for San Francisco last season, rushing for 319 yards and five touchdowns on 81 attempts while hauling in 33 catches for 253 yards and a score. Overall, his 114 touches on the year ranked third on the 49ers.
McKinnon broke free for nine rushes of 10+ yards in 2020, including a 55-yard run against the New York Jets in Week 2. His top performance in the passing game occurred two weeks later against Philadelphia, when McKinnon tallied seven grabs for 43 yards.
2. Before joining the 49ers, McKinnon spent four years with the Minnesota Vikings.
McKinnon spent the first four years of his career with Minnesota, appearing in 58 games while amassing 2,902 total yards from scrimmage (1,918 rushing, 984 receiving) and 12 touchdowns.
His top campaign as a professional was in 2017, as McKinnon set career highs in rushing yards (570), receiving yards (421) and receptions (51) to finish just shy of 1,000 total yards from scrimmage on the season (991).
McKinnon's impressive year earned him a contract with the 49ers ahead of the 2018 season, but a knee injury suffered prior to Week 1 – and a subsequent setback – forced the speedy playmaker to miss all of 2018 and 2019 before bouncing back in a big way last season.
3. McKinnon can do a little bit of everything on offense and special teams.
As his numbers indicate, McKinnon is a jack of all trades who can contribute in a variety of ways on both offense and special teams. He's recorded at least 80 rushing attempts in four of his five seasons as a professional while catching 20+ passes in each of them.
McKinnon also has experience on special teams, returning 25 kicks in his career. Just last season, McKinnon handled 12 kicks for 239 yards.
4. The guy is a ridiculous athlete.
McKinnon's performance at the NFL Scouting Combine in 2014 was nothing short of remarkable, demonstrating his unique athleticism to league decision-makers. He ranked second among all players in the broad jump (11'0"), third in the vertical jump (40'5"), sixth in the 40-yard dash (4.41 seconds) and eighth on the bench press (32 reps).
Those numbers enticed the Vikings to select him in the third round (No. 96 overall) of the 2014 Draft.
5. He played his college ball at Georgia Southern.
A versatile athlete, McKinnon spent time at both quarterback and tailback during his four seasons at Georgia Southern as part of a dynamic rushing attack. He racked up more than 1,000 yards on the ground during both his junior and senior campaigns, tallying 3,899 total rushing yards during his illustrious career on campus.
The 28-year-old McKinnon has been an electric playmaker throughout his time in college and in the professional ranks, and now his journey continues in Kansas City.
