The San Francisco 49ers had an eventful three days at the 2021 NFL Draft. Weeks earlier, the team traded up to acquire the third overall pick, signaling a big move to come. The Niners then used that pick on their apparent quarterback of the future, North Dakota State's Trey Lance. Nearly a year and a half later, not many expected the Niners' final pick of that draft to be the most immediately impactful. San Francisco selected Louisiana running back Elijah Mitchell in the sixth round, projecting him to be a depth back.

Instead, Mitchell became the Niners' feature back, posting 963 yards and five touchdowns in 11 games as a rookie. Mitchell is now the undisputed top back on the Niners' roster entering his second season, much to the excitement of fantasy football players. He performed well as a sleeper pick in fantasy last season with 146 points, top 25 among running backs. With more touches this season, many think Mitchell could be one of the premier options in fantasy football.

With that said, here is Elijah Mitchell's fantasy football outlook for the 2022 NFL season.

Elijah Mitchell 2022 Fantasy Football Outlook

The most attractive quality about Elijah Mitchell is his workload. As mentioned earlier, he is the clear top rusher in most situations for San Francisco. His yardage alone is enough to make his fantasy stats at least decent on most weeks.

Mitchell also benefits from the scheme the Niners run on offense. Kyle Shanahan's team called runs on 49.3% of plays last season, the fourth-highest rate in the league. With a change under center, Shanahan may call even more runs early in the season to help ease his new starter in.

However, cracks begin to show when looking at other aspects of Mitchell's game. For starters, he is rarely a receiving threat, posting just 19 receptions for 137 yards in his rookie season.

Running backs who can also catch, such as Austin Ekeler and Alvin Kamara, thrive in fantasy, especially PPR leagues. Even with his rushing prowess, Mitchell simply won't be able to provide the receiving punch that many look for in fantasy.

Another point against Mitchell is the competition for touchdowns. Yes, he is the top rusher on the team in terms of yards, but not in terms of touchdowns. Instead, that honor goes to Deebo Samuel, who finished with eight touchdowns last year to Mitchell's five.

The quarterback switch from Jimmy Garoppolo to Lance will likely be a mixed bag for Mitchell in fantasy. On one hand, Shanahan may boost Mitchell's workload even more as he adjusts the offense to suit Lance's better rushing abilities. On the other hand, Lance will give Mitchell even more competition for rushing touchdowns.

The final point against Mitchell is his surprising susceptibility to injury. He missed six games last season with multiple injuries, including a finger fracture and a knee sprain. He also suffered minor injuries, including a concussion, that didn't keep him out of games, but still limited his effectiveness.

Mitchell's average draft position on NFL.com is 49.95, placing him just at the end of the fifth round. Other running backs with similar draft positions include James Conner, J.K. Dobbins and Josh Jacobs. With all that's going against Mitchell, it may be difficult to justify picking him over some of the competition.

Overall, Mitchell can be a solid fantasy back, but all the aspects working against him make him difficult to recommend. He might be more at home as a flex option rather than a RB2.