49ers' Kyle Juszczyk embraces being a fullback advocate

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The San Francisco 49ers are in the opening minutes of an early December practice and fullback Kyle Juszczyk is already in a full sprint.

As his teammates make their way to individual position drills, Juszczyk is in search of something else to do. He's already gone through the stretching period with his fellow running backs and caught some kick and punt returns.

Now, Juszczyk wants to open the individual running back drills by taking a couple snaps from under center. Moments later, Juszczyk hops into the receiver drills, lines up in the slot and catches a couple of passes from quarterback Brock Purdy.

Watching Juszczyk bounce from drill to drill, position to position over a 20-minute period offers a glimpse into how he's carved out a successful 11-year career that includes seven Pro Bowl appearances.

"I've never been shy to try things," Juszczyk said. "I've always been confident ... I really feel like there's nothing I can't do out there. I like to give it a shot, and if it doesn't work, it doesn't matter."

Indeed, Juszczyk has become the NFL's most prominent fullback because he realized long ago that the key to playing his position is to actually play it very little.

For many years, an NFL fullback had a simple job: find the hole, run through it before the tailback and take out anyone in the way. They were human sledgehammers.

Those days are long gone. In today's NFL, fullbacks know their only ticket to a roster spot involves proving that they can do a little bit of everything.

In 2023, only 12 teams have used a fullback for offensive snaps. Only 10 have played more than 10% of those offensive snaps. Talk of the fullback going the way of the Dodo bird has loomed for the better part of the past decade.

"It's in danger if you're just a traditional fullback," 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. "it's really hard if you're a fullback who can only line up in the fullback position because how many plays are you going to do with them? ... That's why guys have to be versatile."

Against that backdrop, it's Juszczyk, a converted tight end from Harvard who agreed to play fullback so he could stand out at the Senior Bowl, who offers the blueprint for those who will ensure the position's future.

"I'm in year 11, like, why the hell am I catching punt returns in practice?" Juszczyk said. "You have to evolve to be able to survive."

WHEN SHANAHAN AND general manager John Lynch arrived in San Francisco in February 2017, they had plenty of cap space but even more holes to fill on the roster. In the opening 24 hours of free agency, the Niners agreed to terms with seven free agents who they hoped would help lay the foundation for what they wanted to build.

Shanahan has long believed in the importance of a fullback, and with Juszczyk -- who played his first four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, who will face the 49ers on Monday night at Levi's Stadium (8:15 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN+) -- the clear-cut best available, Shanahan wanted him. When he met with Lynch and Paraag Marathe, the Niners' executive vice president of football operations, to discuss money, he was met with questions.

As Shanahan insisted that Juszczyk would be worth a deal beyond any a fullback had received, Lynch wondered what kind of return Juszczyk could provide on that investment.

"He was like, 'Wait, but how many catches is he going to have? How many yards?'" Shanahan said. "I have no idea. Maybe a lot, maybe none. We're going to play him at fullback, but he can do all this other stuff, too. We can use him in any way.

"I think Paraag wanted to make sure he was a weapon so we could justify his salary. And I think he got that in John's head when he said that. I was like, 'John, he can be, but we're not trying to feature him that way.'"

After the Niners signed the fullback to a four-year, $21 million deal, Lynch introduced Juszczyk as an "offensive weapon," the idea being he would contribute in multiple ways. That was undoubtedly the plan, but it created a public perception that Juszczyk would be reaching unlikely or unrealistic statistical benchmarks.

The mention of 'OW' still draws a smile and laugh from Shanahan and Juszczyk.

"Kyle always jokes like he's so mad that John introduced me as the OW, because immediately, all the fans thought, 'alright, he's gonna touch the ball 60 times a year,'" Juszczyk said. "I'm not gonna lie, I was like, 'heck yeah.' But realistically I touch the ball like 30, 40 times a season, and then I'm utilized in many different ways that isn't touching the ball."

Indeed, measuring Juszczyk's importance to the Niners offense in raw numbers -- in 105 games with the Niners, he's had 55 rushes for 186 yards and four touchdowns to go with 161 receptions for 1,667 yards and 11 scores -- doesn't tell the whole story.

WHEN JUSZCZYK DEPARTED Baltimore for the 49ers, the Ravens replaced him with Patrick Ricard, a fullback in name only who stands an inch taller and weighs roughly 60 pounds more than Juszczyk.

At the time, Ricard recalls thinking fullbacks hadn't moved past being typecast as lead blockers and occasional special teams' contributors. In the following years, offenses spread the field more and used traditional I-formations less.

Soon enough, Ricard was playing more tight end, ostensibly serving as a de facto third offensive tackle. It didn't take long for Ricard to lean into the position's changing nature. While he doesn't do for the Ravens what Juszczyk does for the Niners, he is committed to making himself equally versatile.

Which is why, while Juszczyk might be catching punts at 49ers practice, Ricard is on the opposite side of the country hopping into offensive line drills.

"I want to make sure that they use me and value me, so what can I do to improve myself and to be used in the offense?" Ricard said. "I know that I can be asked to pass protect and if I can work at it and learn technique ... I think that could only help me."

Juszczyk and Ricard are ideal case studies in how today's fullback who doesn't actually play much fullback must operate to continue as key cogs in two of the league's most productive offenses.

Through 14 games, Juszczyk has played 47.5% of the Niners' offensive snaps, the most among fullbacks. Ricard is second at 39.7%. It's no coincidence that Miami's Alec Ingold (37.9%) and Houston's Andrew Beck (31.3%) are next in line considering they play for coaches from the Shanahan tree.

What's more, neither Juszczyk nor Ricard have played the majority of their 2023 snaps at the traditional fullback spot.

Ricard handles a bit more of the dirty work than Juszczyk, playing 269 snaps at tight end, 57 at fullback and five at offensive tackle.

Juszczyk averages 9.6 snaps per game at running back, 12 snaps per game at tight end, 3.9 snaps per game at outside receiver, 3.1 snaps per game at slot receiver and has even taken a pair of snaps at quarterback. Ingold is the only other fullback to take snaps at all of those spots, and Juszczyk runs 11.1 routes per game, three-plus more than any other fullback.

Juszczyk's value isn't just his down-to-down versatility, it's his utility within each down. On any given play, he might be lined up at fullback in an I-formation and end up as an outside receiver or vice versa.

This season, Juszczyk has been in motion on 41.6% of his snaps, the second-most among players who have played at least 100 offensive snaps. That's been a theme of his nearly seven seasons in San Francisco, as he's been in motion on 1,015 snaps, fourth-most of any NFL player in that span.

"That's why Juice is such a weapon," Shanahan said. "It's just not the way that people take that (usually) because we have other people who we are going to probably get the ball to a little bit first before we go to him."

AS REMAINING MEMBERS of an ever-shrinking fraternity, Juszczyk stays in regular contact with fullbacks around the league. They study tape of each other and offer tips to help their colleagues succeed.

The Associated Press is re-adding a designated spot on the All-Pro team for a fullback for the first time since 2015. It's something for which Juszczyk had long advocated, with the understanding that it can help teams see the position's value and alert younger players to an NFL path that might not have previously been considered.

Juszczyk knows he's far from the traditional description of a fullback but cares deeply about preventing the position from going extinct.

"I take a ton of pride in that," Juszczyk said. "By me showing that I can do it gives a lot of these other guys on other teams opportunities where they're like, 'Oh, maybe we could use a guy like that.'"

On that same note, Ricard was recently asked what his advice would be to a young fullback trying to make his way in the NFL. After carefully considering the question, he pointed to special teams as a foundation to build upon.

From there, Ricard says it's about understanding defenses and the leverages, techniques and angles that go into blocking. He also foresees fullbacks continuing to evolve and expand their roles in the passing game.

"Just doing your job is not enough," Ricard said. "You have to do more."

ESPN Ravens reporter Jamison Hensley contributed to this story